What’s to hate in Health Bill?

Here’s a list from a left wing blog, FireDogLake: 

1. Forces you to pay up to 8% of your income to private insurance corporations — whether you want to or not.
2. If you refuse to buy the insurance, you’ll have to pay penalties of up to 2% of your annual income to the IRS.
3. Many will be forced to buy poor-quality insurance they can’t afford to use, with $11,900 in annual out-of-pocket expenses over and above their annual premiums.
4. Massive restriction on a woman’s right to choose, designed to trigger a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court.
5. Paid for by taxes on the middle class insurance plan you have right now through your employer, causing them to cut back benefits and increase co-pays.
6. Many of the taxes to pay for the bill start now, but most Americans won’t see any benefits — like an end to discrimination against those with preexisting conditions — until 2014 when the program begins.
7. Allows insurance companies to charge people who are older 300% more than others.
8. Grants monopolies to drug companies that will keep generic versions of expensive biotech drugs from ever coming to market.
9. No re-importation of prescription drugs, which would save consumers $100 billion over 10 years.
10. The cost of medical care will continue to rise, and insurance premiums for a family of four will rise an average of $1,000 a year — meaning in 10 years, your family’s insurance premium will be $10,000 more annually than it is right now.

Another left wing blogger, Charles Lemos from MyDD.com calls the Senate health bill, “a Frankenstein monster of bill whose sum of parts more reflects the narrow and profane interests that are overrepresented in the United States Senate.”

Should Senate Democrats have listened to advice of their former party chairman, Howard Dean?  A physician by trade, Dean says that his colleagues put short term political gain ahead of the long term future of America.  Dean pleaded “kill the bill” and start over. 

Democratic co-chairman of Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Raul Grijalva says, “Compromises in that chamber (Senate) not only are unjustified on a policy level but also have been unproductive on a political level.”  Lemos also writes, “it’s not compromise. It’s highway robbery. It is a legalized swindle, an extortion most foul.”

Liberals aren’t alone in their opposition. 

Here are reasons why other, everyday Americans oppose Senator Reid’s health plans…

Small business owners:

-- Washington’s forced employer health mandate further cripples small business growth, investment and job creation.

Constitutionalists:

-- federal government now mandates Americans buy a product from a private corporation (insurance) for the first time in history.

Fiscal Conservatives:

-- increases Medicare payroll tax by 0.9 points for individuals making more than $200,000 per year and married couples earning above $250,000

-- new $2.3 billion annual tax on innovator drug companies

-- new $2 billion annual tax on medical device manufacturers

Internal Revenue Service:

-- IRS workers now burdened with implementing and overseeing new taxes on middle class Americans.  

Young, Healthy Americans:

-- Wellpoint estimates insurance premiums for young Americans to skyrocket 35% to as high as 154%, varying on state.

Everyone not living in Nebraska:

-- thanks to last minute deal rewarded for Senator Nelson’s vote, federal taxpayer funds now subsidize 100% of Nebraska’s Medicaid program… in perpetuity!

We received the following letter today.  If you are unhappy about having to foot the bill for Nebraska’s neediest patients, let him/her know!

God Bless,

Foster (:>)**********
___________________________________________________________

Sent:   Monday, December 21, 2009 1:57 PM

To:   Foster Friess

Subject:   How You Can Help Stop the Health Care Now!

This is now spreading across the nation.  If you have a Senator that is going to vote for Health Care and if done immediately by enough, it could stop the national demise of this so called Health Care in its track!

Here is one letter that is being sent to Senators, you can use it or edit as you please.  This will have an immediate impact!

Dear Senator (your own Senators name):

We understand that Senator Ben Nelson succeeded in getting the federal government to cover all Nebraska's Medicaid expenses in partial return for his Health Care vote!

This, of course, means that (name your state) taxpayers will have to help fund Nebraska's Medicaid program in addition to paying for our own at a time when our own state is already strapped for money!

We are hereby requesting that you inform Senator Reid that you will not vote for the Health Care legislation unless (name your state) is also provided federal funding for all its Medicaid expenses.

Your vote is, apparently, every bit as crucial as Senator Nelson's, so there is no reason to expect that you cannot give us as your constituents the same protection as he has obtained for his.

We want to make sure you consider us no less important than Senator Nelson did his constituents and would certainly expect you to immediately request no less for our state or make sure Senator Reid knows you are not going to be voting for Health Care!

Thanks so much for looking out for us no less than Ben Nelson did for his constituents.

Very truly yours,

[Here's the thing:  We are sure every single Senator is going to get this kind of request, and, if we make sure they get enough of them, they are going to have to tell Reid that their constituents are just as important as Nelson's, and Reid is going to have to back down and start renegotiating with Nelson.  I think Sanders of Vermont got the same deal, by the way.  I think Reid has made a bad mistake here and that this approach is probably the most effective one we have at the moment.

The way to contact your Senator is simply Google their name and go to their official web site for their email, phone or address.

Please pass this information to other people you think would be willing to protest the purchase of votes by sticking other Senators' constituents with helping foot Nebraska's Medicaid bill.