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Healthcare Passes—Now What?
On March 21, after months of wrangling, the House finally passed the healthcare “reform” bill by a slim margin of 219 to 212. As one commentator noted, at the end of the day this bill was more about showing who wields power in Washington than it was a battle over fixing systemic problems plaguing medicine in the United States.
Independent liberals and conservatives, who are not beholden to either Democrats or Republicans, saw the bill for what it truly is: A welfare check for private health insurance companies that does nothing to curb out-of-control costs or the high price of medicine that is strangling individuals and businesses alike.
On the eve of the bill’s passage one independent news web site called Firedoglake posted key facts gleaned from establishment and government sources that show why the bill would actually hurt middle-class Americans.
In actuality, the bill does not do what its advocates have promised. While it forces everyone—including those who are already struggling financially—to purchase private health plans or face fines administered by IRS revenuers, health insurance companies will not be barred from raising premiums. And, while it establishes an “insurance exchange” that is supposedly intended to give citizens the ability to shop around for cheaper insurance, it does not stop the industry from price-fixing or engaging in other trust-like behavior.
Finally, it does not allow citizens to save money by purchasing cheaper drugs from countries like Canada that regulate prices.
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It is estimated the measure will insure 30 million Americans who previously had no health insurance.
But this will come at a steep cost to middle-class taxpayers and other healthy Americans, who will see their premiums go up to cover the new costs to private insurers for those people.
Barack Obama has promised that by 2016 the bill will reduce premiums by $2,500. However, an analysis by a watchdog group found that annual insurance premiums in all markets across the board will either remain the same in the next six years or will go up.
Working-class families are already struggling to pay the bills. Medical costs remain the leading cause of bankruptcies in America. Now, a family of four that makes $66,000 a year will have to pay a private insurance firm over $5,000—nearly 10 percent of their gross income—annually for private health insurance, not including deductibles and co-pays, which will likely increase, too.
Also, businesses are expected to take a hit with an excise tax to pay for the program. Of course, companies will pass on the extra expense to their employees by having them pay more for their insurance.
Finally, insurance companies will be forced to cover people with pre-existing conditions like cancer. But, according to reports, it is expected that healthy employees will be forced to pay more to cover the rising cost of insuring everyone.
As if this is not bad enough, private health insurance companies will now be responsible for policing themselves and processing complaints. And they will remain exempt from antitrust laws designed to prevent the type of price controls made famous in the days of the robber barons.
The vote itself was split almost entirely down party lines, with all 178 House Republicans voting against the measure. Thirty-four conservative Democrats also voted against the bill. Their names are published in the chart below.
Rep. John Adler (N.J.)
Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.)
Rep. Michael Arcuri (N.Y.)
Rep. John Barrow (Ga.)
Rep. Marion Berry (Ark.)
Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.)
Rep. Rick Boucher (Va.)
Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.)
Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.)
Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.)
Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.)
Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)
Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.)
Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.)
Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (Mass.)
Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.)
Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
Rep. Mike McMahon (N.Y.)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (La.)
Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho)
Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.)
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)
Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.)
Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.)
Rep. Zack Space (Ohio)
Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.)
Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.) and
Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.)
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(Issue # 14, April 5, 2010)
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