Federal health care not an answer

A lot has been said about President Barack Obama’s health care program by people on both sides of the argument, who either have never read the bill or are purposefully lying to advance their positions. A good example is the issue of “end-of-life” counseling and the specter of “death panels.”  Look at the bill (find it online at http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090714/aahca.pdf ). On page 425, it appears that the bill says that Medicare will pay for such counseling as many times as once every five years, not that counseling is required.

To be very clear, I am wholly opposed to the current form of the House bill (HR 3200), especially the idea of a “public option.” The idea of putting the government, a nonprofit entity that has never run anything efficiently, in competition with corporations that don’t have the advantage of printing their own money, is ridiculous. The alternate concept of a health insurance cooperative is no better with the government dictating what members of the co-op must provide. 

Other items in the bill speak to the focus on ultimate government control. Are you aware that you will be required to have health insurance or pay a tax because you don’t (see page 167, lines 18 and beyond)? The maximum tax is the annual average nationwide premium cost. Then, whether you have insurance or not, under “Other Revenue Provisions,” if your income exceeds $350,000, you will pay a 1 percent surcharge, 1.5 percent at $500,000 and 5.4 percent at more than $1 million (page 197 starting at line 17). None of those numbers apply to me, but are you getting the idea? Beyond that, if you are employed and you opt not to have insurance, your company is required to pay for you anyway (page 144, lines 14-15). The nation needs some improvements in the health system, but not this hideously expensive effort to expand government at our expense.

Charles Salembier

Waynesboro