The White Plains Tea Party Group
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- Let Your voice be heard -
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Impact of Proposed Health Care Legislation on the Economy
The proposed health care legislation would cause state budgets to explode by $37 Billion -- “Max’s Mad Mandate,” Wall Street Journal)
Insurance Premiums, Taxes, Surtaxes, and Penalties
I. Imposes almost half a trillion dollars worth of new taxes, fees and penalties on individuals, families and businesses. (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage
Foundation)
II. House bill will implement a 5.4% income surtax on individuals making more than $500,000 annually and on couples earning $1,000,000. (“Ripping Open New
Wounds,” David M. Drucker).
III. Government will have access to all Americans’ personal and financial records. (HR3200, p. 195)
IV. An income tax surtax (on top of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts) means marginal tax rates of 50% on those making $500,000 in high-tax states like New
York. (“Ripping Open New Wounds,” David M. Drucker)
V. Forty percent excise tax on individual policies worth $8,500 or more annually and family policies worth $23,000. (“Ripping Open New Wounds,” David M.
Drucker)
VI. Excise tax on charitable hospitals of $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet now “community health assessment need,”“financial assistance,” and “billing and
collections” rules sets by Health and Human Services. (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
VII. Government prohibits hospital expansion, unless an exception is requested and accompanied by community input. (HR 3200, pp. 317-318, pp. 1-3 and pp. 21-
25)
VIII. Government tells doctors what and how much they may own. (HR 3200, p. 317, lines 13-20)
IX. Tax hike for Blue Cross/Blue Shield -- except for Nebraska (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
X. Annual fees of $2.3 Billion on brand-name drugs, $4 Billion on medical devices, $6.7 Billion on certain insurance providers. (Scott Gottlieb, Oct. 29, 2009)
XI. Taxes on drug companies and device-makers will be passed on to consumers. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes, NY Post, (12/16/09).
XII. The American Medical Assn. supports the legislation; however, 72% of physicians refuse to belong to the AMA.
XIII. AARP supports the legislation, but seniors and pundits have accused it of buying into government promises that the bill names AARP as the sole vendor of
supplemental medical policies under the bill.
XIV. Congressional Budget Office predicts many employers will downgrade health care for their workforce to avoid new taxes while others will pass the cost along
in the form of lower take-home pay.
XV. If you make $88,000 annually and are dropped from a corporate plan, you must pay the full cost of private insurance or pay a fine, backed up by
imprisonment. (“What the Health Care Bill Means to You,” New York Post)
XVI. A young, childless couple will have to pay 8% - 12% of their income for insurance or be fined $1,000 for not having coverage. (“Emperor Obama’s Health Bill
XVI. Congressional Budget Office reports that 10 Million people could lose their employer-based coverage.
XVIII. Lewin Group (independent and non-partisan) estimates that about 83.4 Million people would lose their private health insurance. (“Trying to Talk Around the
Facts,” Grace-Marie Turner)
XIX. Increased taxes on business, individuals and capital will restrict job growth at a time when unemployment is around 10%. – or 17% if you include those who’ve
stopped looking for work.
XX. Either premiums for the middle class increase with limited compensating subsidies OR generous subsidies are funded with hidden middle class taxes. (“Obama’s
Magic Math,” Rich Lowry)
XXI. Non-resident aliens will be exempt from individual taxes. (HR 3200, p. 170, pages 1-3)
XXII. The average New York City family with two children would see its premiums jump 85%. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes).
XXIII. Congressional Budget Office says private insurance rates will rise by 10% - 13% and roughly double by 2016.
XXIV. Private insurance premiums will rise as the money will be needed to fund an expanded Medicaid program. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes)
XXV. Tax credits will be provided to a family of four earning 400% of the poverty level ($88,000 a year).(“What the Health Care Bill Means to You,” New York
Post)
XXVI. Individual Mandate Tax: Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, members of Indian tribes and hardship cases (to be
determined by HHS). (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
XXVII. According to the CBO by 2019, 24 Million will remain uninsured. (Congressional Budget Office)
XXVIII. The House Bill: The CBO says the House bill adds $239 Billion to the budget deficit, By 2024 it adds $600 Billion to the deficit.
XXIX. The Senate Bill: The CBO scored it at $849 Billion over 10 years only because the bill front-loads the first 10 years of revenue by imposing taxes
immediately, even though the bill doesn’t go into effect until 2013. The actual 10-year cost will be $2.5 Trillion. (New York Post Editorial, Nov. 20, 2009)
XXX. Governor Patterson says: The cost of the proposed legislation will cost New York State $1 Billion per year and would cause hundreds of health facilities to
close. (“Gillly’s Second Opinion,” Charles Hurt)
How the Internal Revenue Service Will Help Enforce the Proposed Legislation (“Health Bills Could Expand IRS Role,” Phil
Galewitz and Christopher Weaver, Kaiser Health News, Jan. 4, 2010)
I. Americans would be required to provide proof of health insurance to the IRS on their annual tax returns or pay a penalty to the IRS if they fail to do so.
II. Subsidies from the IRS would apply to people with incomes up to four times the poverty level, which is $43,320 for an individual and $88,200 for a family of four.
III. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the IRS would need an additional $5 - $10 Billion in the first decade to cover the cost of its expanded role.
IV. The CBO says the IRS will be charged with collecting hundreds of billions of dollars in new fees on employers, drug companies and device-makers.
V. The IRS would distribute as much as $140 Billion a year in new government subsidies to help small employers and as many as 19 Million lower-income people
buy coverage.
VI. The government will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfers.
Currently a Value-Added Tax is being considered by Congress to help pay down the deficit. A VAT tax is a tax on everything . For example, if you buy a pizza, before
the pizza reaches your door taxes will have been levied already on the cardboard to make and transport the box, on the cost to make and transport the cheese, sauce,
dough, etc. If levied, that tax will affect every purchase made, raising the cost of all products.
“Obamacare vs. the Constitution,” by Betsy McCaughey
“The ‘takings clause’ of the Fifth Amendment bars government from taking private property without compensation. It should protect everyone – even insurance
companies, but Congress ignored it in the bill. The Senate version goes beyond reining in insurance company abuses – a just cause – and actually caps insurance
company profits margins at well below current levels, robbing shareholders.”
The proposed health care legislation would cause state budgets to explode by $37 Billion -- “Max’s Mad Mandate,” Wall Street Journal)
Insurance Premiums, Taxes, Surtaxes, and Penalties
I. Imposes almost half a trillion dollars worth of new taxes, fees and penalties on individuals, families and businesses. (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage
Foundation)
II. House bill will implement a 5.4% income surtax on individuals making more than $500,000 annually and on couples earning $1,000,000. (“Ripping Open New
Wounds,” David M. Drucker).
III. Government will have access to all Americans’ personal and financial records. (HR3200, p. 195)
IV. An income tax surtax (on top of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts) means marginal tax rates of 50% on those making $500,000 in high-tax states like New
York. (“Ripping Open New Wounds,” David M. Drucker)
V. Forty percent excise tax on individual policies worth $8,500 or more annually and family policies worth $23,000. (“Ripping Open New Wounds,” David M.
Drucker)
VI. Excise tax on charitable hospitals of $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet now “community health assessment need,”“financial assistance,” and “billing and
collections” rules sets by Health and Human Services. (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
VII. Government prohibits hospital expansion, unless an exception is requested and accompanied by community input. (HR 3200, pp. 317-318, pp. 1-3 and pp. 21-
25)
VIII. Government tells doctors what and how much they may own. (HR 3200, p. 317, lines 13-20)
IX. Tax hike for Blue Cross/Blue Shield -- except for Nebraska (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
X. Annual fees of $2.3 Billion on brand-name drugs, $4 Billion on medical devices, $6.7 Billion on certain insurance providers. (Scott Gottlieb, Oct. 29, 2009)
XI. Taxes on drug companies and device-makers will be passed on to consumers. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes, NY Post, (12/16/09).
XII. The American Medical Assn. supports the legislation; however, 72% of physicians refuse to belong to the AMA.
XIII. AARP supports the legislation, but seniors and pundits have accused it of buying into government promises that the bill names AARP as the sole vendor of
supplemental medical policies under the bill.
XIV. Congressional Budget Office predicts many employers will downgrade health care for their workforce to avoid new taxes while others will pass the cost along
in the form of lower take-home pay.
XV. If you make $88,000 annually and are dropped from a corporate plan, you must pay the full cost of private insurance or pay a fine, backed up by
imprisonment. (“What the Health Care Bill Means to You,” New York Post)
XVI. A young, childless couple will have to pay 8% - 12% of their income for insurance or be fined $1,000 for not having coverage. (“Emperor Obama’s Health Bill
XVI. Congressional Budget Office reports that 10 Million people could lose their employer-based coverage.
XVIII. Lewin Group (independent and non-partisan) estimates that about 83.4 Million people would lose their private health insurance. (“Trying to Talk Around the
Facts,” Grace-Marie Turner)
XIX. Increased taxes on business, individuals and capital will restrict job growth at a time when unemployment is around 10%. – or 17% if you include those who’ve
stopped looking for work.
XX. Either premiums for the middle class increase with limited compensating subsidies OR generous subsidies are funded with hidden middle class taxes. (“Obama’s
Magic Math,” Rich Lowry)
XXI. Non-resident aliens will be exempt from individual taxes. (HR 3200, p. 170, pages 1-3)
XXII. The average New York City family with two children would see its premiums jump 85%. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes).
XXIII. Congressional Budget Office says private insurance rates will rise by 10% - 13% and roughly double by 2016.
XXIV. Private insurance premiums will rise as the money will be needed to fund an expanded Medicaid program. (“’Reform’ Still Stinks,” Sally Pipes)
XXV. Tax credits will be provided to a family of four earning 400% of the poverty level ($88,000 a year).(“What the Health Care Bill Means to You,” New York
Post)
XXVI. Individual Mandate Tax: Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, members of Indian tribes and hardship cases (to be
determined by HHS). (“A Health Bill Nobody Believes In,” Heritage Foundation)
XXVII. According to the CBO by 2019, 24 Million will remain uninsured. (Congressional Budget Office)
XXVIII. The House Bill: The CBO says the House bill adds $239 Billion to the budget deficit, By 2024 it adds $600 Billion to the deficit.
XXIX. The Senate Bill: The CBO scored it at $849 Billion over 10 years only because the bill front-loads the first 10 years of revenue by imposing taxes
immediately, even though the bill doesn’t go into effect until 2013. The actual 10-year cost will be $2.5 Trillion. (New York Post Editorial, Nov. 20, 2009)
XXX. Governor Patterson says: The cost of the proposed legislation will cost New York State $1 Billion per year and would cause hundreds of health facilities to
close. (“Gillly’s Second Opinion,” Charles Hurt)
How the Internal Revenue Service Will Help Enforce the Proposed Legislation (“Health Bills Could Expand IRS Role,” Phil
Galewitz and Christopher Weaver, Kaiser Health News, Jan. 4, 2010)
I. Americans would be required to provide proof of health insurance to the IRS on their annual tax returns or pay a penalty to the IRS if they fail to do so.
II. Subsidies from the IRS would apply to people with incomes up to four times the poverty level, which is $43,320 for an individual and $88,200 for a family of four.
III. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the IRS would need an additional $5 - $10 Billion in the first decade to cover the cost of its expanded role.
IV. The CBO says the IRS will be charged with collecting hundreds of billions of dollars in new fees on employers, drug companies and device-makers.
V. The IRS would distribute as much as $140 Billion a year in new government subsidies to help small employers and as many as 19 Million lower-income people
buy coverage.
VI. The government will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective funds transfers.
Currently a Value-Added Tax is being considered by Congress to help pay down the deficit. A VAT tax is a tax on everything . For example, if you buy a pizza, before
the pizza reaches your door taxes will have been levied already on the cardboard to make and transport the box, on the cost to make and transport the cheese, sauce,
dough, etc. If levied, that tax will affect every purchase made, raising the cost of all products.
“Obamacare vs. the Constitution,” by Betsy McCaughey
“The ‘takings clause’ of the Fifth Amendment bars government from taking private property without compensation. It should protect everyone – even insurance
companies, but Congress ignored it in the bill. The Senate version goes beyond reining in insurance company abuses – a just cause – and actually caps insurance
company profits margins at well below current levels, robbing shareholders.”
Impact of Proposed Health Care Legislation on Seniors
“Treating 65-year olds differently because of stereotypes or falsehoods would be ageist; treating them differently because they have already
had more life-years is not.” – Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (Health Care Advisor to the President), “Principles for Allocation of Scarce Medical
Interventions,” The Lancet, January 31, 2009.
A government-run health care plan would set up a “comparative effectiveness research commission” where health-care treatment
decisions will be based on a person’s age. This would affect senior citizens in the following ways:
I. Limits will be set on how much will be paid to lengthen a life and the “good of society” will transcend the needs of the individual.
II. Already physician-assisted suicides are offered in Oregon instead of health care which would extend or improve a person’s life.
III. Canada, where they have universal medical care, posts lower rates of cardiac procedures than the U.S. almost entirely by restricting their use for patients 65 and
older.
IV. Doctors will be penalized when an initial treatment results in a re-admission to the hospital.
V. Health Services to people who are not “participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed.” – Dr. E. Emanuel
VI. In countries with socialized medicine treatment is determined by a mathematical formula: QALY (quality-adjusted life year): Those who walk are worth more
than those in wheelchairs. The blind are worth less than the sighted.
VII. Treatment will be approved on the basis of cost of treatment divided by the number of quality years remaining.
VIII. In the complete lives system of Dr. Emanuel individuals between 15 and 40 get the most substantial chance.
IX. Medicare doctors whose treatments each year of certain, mostly elderly, patients cost more than a set government figure will be punished by losing part of their
own incomes.
X. Coming up on the research menu of the Preventive Services Task Force (which recently set out the new guidelines for mammograms) is the effects of falls on the
elderly and whether its cost effective to intervene.
Medicare will be cut by almost $500 B which will translate into a significant decline in the quality of care and in the spectrum of
choices available to senior citizens in the following ways:
I. $120 B cut in Medicare Advantage means seniors will lose coverage for chronic conditions, routine eye and hearing exams, free flu shots and dental coverage.
II. $150 B cut to providers including hospitals, hospice and nursing homes.
III. $23 B in decreases to be determined by an Independent Medical Advisory Board.
IV. Doctors will face financial penalties beginning in 2014 for treating high-cost patients with complex conditions.
V. Cuts in hospital budgets will lead to fewer nurses, fewer doctors and fewer diagnostic devices.
VI. Reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices.
VII. Taxes on drug companies and device-makers will be passed on to those making less than $200,000.
VIII. Slower adoption of new medications and limits set on how much will be paid to lengthen a life.
IX. Health care will shift from specialists (e.g. cardiologists) to primary care physicians.
X. The Mayo Clinic and 12 other top health-delivery outlets would be forced out of business.
XI. Cutting hospital care spending means cutting doctors’ incomes by 21% and turning down patients who seek medical care not approved by the Federal Health
Board.
XII. According to an Investors’ Business Daily poll 45% of doctors would consider retiring or finding a new profession if the proposed health care legislation passes.
Government-run health care will deprive patients of the power to control their own medical decisions and create
government boards that would decide what treatments would or wouldn’t be funded. How will this affect senior
citizens?
I. Government guidelines will be set up to manage doctors for the purpose of avoiding expensive treatments. ($1.1M was set aside in the Stimulus Bill to create
Comparative Effectiveness Research for this purpose).
II. There will be 111 government agencies, boards, commissions and other bureaucracies which will be overseen by the Commissioner of Health Care Choices.
III. A Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you.
IV. Government will impose price controls on the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
V. The government will regulate the rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
VI. Computers will deliver embedded clinical decision support.
VII. A Tele-Health Advisory Committee will be established.
VIII. Electronically-delivered protocols on “appropriate” and “cost effective” care will guide your doctor.
IX. A Federal Health Board will determine what treatments doctors can offer and to whom and under what circumstances.
X. Consolidation of individual medical practices into larger groups so that care and costs may be more easily managed by a remote Medicare agency.
XI. The government will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective transfer.
XII. An advanced-care planning consultant will be used frequently as patients’ health deteriorates.
XIII. Mandatory government consultation and instruction regarding living wills.
XIV. The government will provide an approved list of end-of-life resources.
XV. The government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.
XVI. Functionaries who will make decisions about your treatment and the extent of your lifespan have never met you, do not know your name and have never spoken
directly with your doctor.
The serious impact of the proposed legislation can be summed up by quotes from 3 esteemed medical professionals.
“We will have to violate our values in order to stay in business and reduce our access to government patients.” – Executive Director of the
Mayo Clinic.
“The only doctors left in Medicare will be those willing to ration care and practice cookbook medicine.” -- Dr. David McKalip, Florida
Neurosurgeon.
Thrall fears that “….we may be entering an era of deliberate decisions where we choose to trade people’s lives for money.” -- Dr. James
Thrall, Chairman, American College of Radiology and a Harvard School Medical Professor.
“Treating 65-year olds differently because of stereotypes or falsehoods would be ageist; treating them differently because they have already
had more life-years is not.” – Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (Health Care Advisor to the President), “Principles for Allocation of Scarce Medical
Interventions,” The Lancet, January 31, 2009.
A government-run health care plan would set up a “comparative effectiveness research commission” where health-care treatment
decisions will be based on a person’s age. This would affect senior citizens in the following ways:
I. Limits will be set on how much will be paid to lengthen a life and the “good of society” will transcend the needs of the individual.
II. Already physician-assisted suicides are offered in Oregon instead of health care which would extend or improve a person’s life.
III. Canada, where they have universal medical care, posts lower rates of cardiac procedures than the U.S. almost entirely by restricting their use for patients 65 and
older.
IV. Doctors will be penalized when an initial treatment results in a re-admission to the hospital.
V. Health Services to people who are not “participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed.” – Dr. E. Emanuel
VI. In countries with socialized medicine treatment is determined by a mathematical formula: QALY (quality-adjusted life year): Those who walk are worth more
than those in wheelchairs. The blind are worth less than the sighted.
VII. Treatment will be approved on the basis of cost of treatment divided by the number of quality years remaining.
VIII. In the complete lives system of Dr. Emanuel individuals between 15 and 40 get the most substantial chance.
IX. Medicare doctors whose treatments each year of certain, mostly elderly, patients cost more than a set government figure will be punished by losing part of their
own incomes.
X. Coming up on the research menu of the Preventive Services Task Force (which recently set out the new guidelines for mammograms) is the effects of falls on the
elderly and whether its cost effective to intervene.
Medicare will be cut by almost $500 B which will translate into a significant decline in the quality of care and in the spectrum of
choices available to senior citizens in the following ways:
I. $120 B cut in Medicare Advantage means seniors will lose coverage for chronic conditions, routine eye and hearing exams, free flu shots and dental coverage.
II. $150 B cut to providers including hospitals, hospice and nursing homes.
III. $23 B in decreases to be determined by an Independent Medical Advisory Board.
IV. Doctors will face financial penalties beginning in 2014 for treating high-cost patients with complex conditions.
V. Cuts in hospital budgets will lead to fewer nurses, fewer doctors and fewer diagnostic devices.
VI. Reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices.
VII. Taxes on drug companies and device-makers will be passed on to those making less than $200,000.
VIII. Slower adoption of new medications and limits set on how much will be paid to lengthen a life.
IX. Health care will shift from specialists (e.g. cardiologists) to primary care physicians.
X. The Mayo Clinic and 12 other top health-delivery outlets would be forced out of business.
XI. Cutting hospital care spending means cutting doctors’ incomes by 21% and turning down patients who seek medical care not approved by the Federal Health
Board.
XII. According to an Investors’ Business Daily poll 45% of doctors would consider retiring or finding a new profession if the proposed health care legislation passes.
Government-run health care will deprive patients of the power to control their own medical decisions and create
government boards that would decide what treatments would or wouldn’t be funded. How will this affect senior
citizens?
I. Government guidelines will be set up to manage doctors for the purpose of avoiding expensive treatments. ($1.1M was set aside in the Stimulus Bill to create
Comparative Effectiveness Research for this purpose).
II. There will be 111 government agencies, boards, commissions and other bureaucracies which will be overseen by the Commissioner of Health Care Choices.
III. A Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you.
IV. Government will impose price controls on the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
V. The government will regulate the rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
VI. Computers will deliver embedded clinical decision support.
VII. A Tele-Health Advisory Committee will be established.
VIII. Electronically-delivered protocols on “appropriate” and “cost effective” care will guide your doctor.
IX. A Federal Health Board will determine what treatments doctors can offer and to whom and under what circumstances.
X. Consolidation of individual medical practices into larger groups so that care and costs may be more easily managed by a remote Medicare agency.
XI. The government will have direct access to your bank accounts for elective transfer.
XII. An advanced-care planning consultant will be used frequently as patients’ health deteriorates.
XIII. Mandatory government consultation and instruction regarding living wills.
XIV. The government will provide an approved list of end-of-life resources.
XV. The government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.
XVI. Functionaries who will make decisions about your treatment and the extent of your lifespan have never met you, do not know your name and have never spoken
directly with your doctor.
The serious impact of the proposed legislation can be summed up by quotes from 3 esteemed medical professionals.
“We will have to violate our values in order to stay in business and reduce our access to government patients.” – Executive Director of the
Mayo Clinic.
“The only doctors left in Medicare will be those willing to ration care and practice cookbook medicine.” -- Dr. David McKalip, Florida
Neurosurgeon.
Thrall fears that “….we may be entering an era of deliberate decisions where we choose to trade people’s lives for money.” -- Dr. James
Thrall, Chairman, American College of Radiology and a Harvard School Medical Professor.
