My thoughts on the Healthcare Bill

Well, the healthcare bill passed the House on Sunday. It was a narrow vote, 219-212. However rather than rehash what happened (as thousand of other websites will do) here are a couple thoughts I came away with:

• With a vote this narrow (for you non-math people, it’s 7 representatives) I feel that something must be done. I wish that there was a rule stating that if a bill passes with a margin of less than 10 representatives, it should be put before the people as a final vote. With a bill this controversial, it would be a great way for people to practically support or oppose this bill.
• One way that the media was able to diminish the effect of the tea party protesters was to make them a separate political party. Once a group becomes a traditional party instead of a group of concerned citizens, they lose their effectiveness.
• Congratulations to the 34 Democrats who opposed the bill. They are: John Adler (N.J. 3), Jason Altmire (Pa. 4), Michael Arcuri (N.Y. 24), John Barrow (Ga. 12), Marion Berry (Ark. 1), Dan Boren (Okla. 2), Rick Boucher (Va. 9), Bobby Bright (Ala. 2), Ben Chandler (Ky. 6), Travis Childers (Miss. 1), Lincoln Davis (Tenn. 4), Artur Davis (Ala. 7), Chet Edwards (Tex. 17), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.), Tim Holden (Pa. 17), Larry Kissell (N.C. 8), Frank Kratovil Jr. (Md. 1), Daniel Lipinski (Ill. 3), Stephen F. Lynch (Mass. 9), Jim Marshall (Ga. 8), Jim Matheson (Utah 2), Mike McIntyre (N.C. 7), Michael E. McMahon (N.Y. 13), Charlie Melancon (La. 3), Walt Minnick (Idaho 1), Glenn Nye (Va. 2), Collin C. Peterson (Minn. 7), Mike Ross (Ark. 4), Heath Shuler (N.C. 11), Ike Skelton (Mo. 4), Zack Space (Ohio 18), John Tanner (Tenn. 8), Gene Taylor (Miss. 4), Harry Teague (N.M. 2). So if any of these people are your representative go thank them for their opposition to the bill.
• At this point there’s no point arguing about the pros and cons of the bill. Learn what’s in it, and move on. Just recognize the mistakes and learn from it next time.

The Health Care Bill Summary

Well if there’s one thing the health care bill was good for is that it reawakened my ability to blog. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed the House on Sunday and will be sent to President Obama to be signed into law. The bill is the Senate version of the Health care bill and is about 2,400 pages long. Now that we’ve passed it and can see what’s in it, let’s take a look at some of the major parts of the bill:

— The bill will provide “Quality Health Insurance Coverage for All Americans” by prohibiting preexisting health condition exclusions from insurance coverage.

–Prohibits a health plan from rescinding coverage of an enrollee except in the case of fraud.

–Health insurance exchanges: requires states to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange for purchase of qualified health insurance plans. Creates a related entity to assist with small business health coverage.

–Directs states to establish one or more reinsurance entities for reinsurance programs to assist in health care coverage.

–Requires individuals to maintain minimal health care coverage beginning in 2014. Imposes a penalty for failure to maintain such coverage with exceptions for low-income individuals, members of Indian tribes, people who object on religious grounds.

–Requires employers of 50 workers who don’t offer coverage to pay a fee up to $750 per worker.

–Beginning in 2010, small employers can elect a tax credit for 50% of their employee health care coverage expenses. Small employers are generally defined as businesses with no more than 25 employees.

–On abortion, permits states to prohibit abortion coverage in qualified health plans offered through an exchange in the state. It prohibits federal funds from being used for abortion services and requires separate accounts for payments for such services.

–The bill seeks to extend Medicaid coverage, beginning in 2014, to certain low-income individuals under age 65. States can expand Medicaid eligibility to these people as early as April 1, 2010.

–Sets new standards for Medicare payment to hospitals and doctors by linking “payment to quality outcomes under the Medicare Program.”

–Maintains Children’s Health Insurance Program funding for two years through fiscal year 2015.

–Medicaid Prescription Drug Coverage: seeks to close a gap in seniors’ prescription drug coverage known as the donut hole.

–Expands funding for Community Health Centers.

–Expands doctors and health care services, particularly in rural and underserved areas: increases loans made by schools to nursing students. Expands various health care professional training programs.

–To curb fraud and potential conflicts of interest, bill would require drug, device, biological and medical supply manufacturers to report “transfers of value” made to a medical professionals. Requires disclosure of physician ownership or investment interest in a manufacturer and new disclosure requirements for nursing homes.

–Implements the “Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009” that gives drug makers 12 years of protection, or exclusivity, to sell biologic medicines before facing the threat of cheaper, off-brand alternatives.

Tax increases:

–New excise tax on high premium insurance plans raises $149.1 billion over 10 years. This tax would be 40% of premiums paid on plans costing more than $23,000 for family plans and $8,500 for individual plans.

–New Medicare tax on wealthy: increases after December 31, 2012, the Medicare hospital insurance tax rate by 0.9 percentage points for individual taxpayers earning over $200,000, or married joint filers making more than $250,000.

–Imposes an annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices beginning in 2011.

–Imposes an annual fee on certain makers of branded prescription drug beginning in 2010.

–Raises medical tax deduction threshold from 7.5% to 10% of adjusted gross income beginning after 2012.

–Imposes a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning after July 1, 2010.

–Major provisions in the bill would not take effect until January 1, 2014.

I realize that’s a long summary, but if you’re curious about what’s in this bill, there you go!

Is the Democratic Party Self-Destructing?

Thanks to Scott Brown, the political momentum of the US has changed drastically. Once thought to be a party that was down and soon to be out, the Republicans are now seriously attempting to obtain control of Congress. With this in mind, the Democrats are scrambling to regain the support that they had in 2008. Unfortunately for them, the result has been party fighting and disagreement. President Obama is taking the brunt of this unrest as many of his former supporters and party mates (is that what they’re called?) are opposing him Following is a short list of people who have problems with the President and the Democrats in general.

• Nancy Pelosi. Despite her somewhat gleeful appearance at the State of the Union address(body language experts say that much of her performance there was acting), she’s been opposing the president on many issues ever since. She’s stopped the President’s jobs bill, scolded him on health care, and even disagreed with his decision  to not  freeze  military spending.(Seriously? Even if you’re a pacifist, we are currently at war and freezing military spending is incredibly foolish) While it’s great that she’s showing her independence, most of her disagreements are coming at the worst possible time for Obama. His jobs bill was supposed to be a strong bipartisan act. Instead we see disagreements, especially among Democrats. With these Democrats being split between Pelosi and Obama, we may see a Pelosi vs Obama war of words in the near future.
• Unions. Labor unions are frustrated with the Democrats in general. A major supporter in 2008, the unions are now threatening to stay home in 2010.  They’re unhappy with Congress for getting nothing done. Add to this the fact that the Senate failed to confirm labor lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, and the likelihood of union support for Democrats becomes little more than a dream.
• Republicans. No surprise here! Still, despite Obama’s recent bipartisan push, the GOP is still finding problems with him. The most recent area is terrorism. Recently, the ranking GOP member of the Senate Intelligence Committee called for the ouster of President Barack Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan. The White House says this request is ridiculous and yet another issue becomes a battleground.
• Democrats, specifically progressives. Obama was asked directly whether bonus payouts to the CEOs of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs were acceptable, Obama replied by praising both men as “savvy businessmen.” He went on to say, “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.” After these comments, Democrats were furious! The White House scrambled to contain the damage, but it was too late. Democrats called Obama “clueless” and said that he “doesn’t care, doesn’t understand, doesn’t get it. … It’s called flip-flopping.” In addition, many Democrats are concerned about Obama’s promise to repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” His promise was a great move as it sent a strong signal to the Democrats’ demoralized progressive base that he’s still on their side. Unfortunately, many Democrats see this as little more than rhetoric as no plans have been made to push this plan.

With the Democratic party falling apart, the chance of a Republican takeover of Congress becomes more and more likely. Unless the Dems pull their act together, they could be seeing a lot more frustration in the future.