Obamacare’s smoke and mirrors

The “reconciliation” bill has finally seen the light of day. If you are on Medicare, or, have insurance either through your employer, or, on your own, fasten your seat belts.

Remember the $500 billion cut to Medicare?  It’s now $535 billion.  Unless Obama can turn back the hands of time for those who may be approaching 65, the plan is to cut that much money from Medicare, while, at the same time  adding hundreds of thousands of “baby boomers” to the Medicare rolls.  How will that work, you ask?  There are only two options that I can think of.  Either the cuts to Medicare will not happen, thus dramatically increasing the cost of Obamacare, or, those on Medicare will have to do without medical care to stay within budget.

And, how about those of you who have insurance either through your employer, or on your own?  Well, you are not much better off than the “baby boomers”.  The original plan under the Senate bill, regardless of what Obama said, was to have your premiums increase by enough to offset the $6.7 billon per year tax on insurance companies.   Under the reconciliation plan, your premium increase will almost double to cover the $11.2 billion per year tax on insurance companies in the “reconciliation” bill.  Gulp.

So, now you know how those in favor of Obamacare can proclaim that it  is deficit nuetral neutral.  It steals from the seniors, most of whom have paid Medicare taxes all of their lives, and, it steals from anyone who currently has insurance. 

And for what?  An ideology that has failed miserably everywhere it has been tried?

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

1 Comment

  1. Dimsdale on March 19, 2010 at 6:02 am

    It is easy to be "deficit neutral" when you pass the costs onto the taxpayer (and it makes them sound so responsible)!  But that isn't what you hear on the liberal media outlets.  You just hear about the alleged freebies and increased coverage.  Nothing about making millions of illegals "legal" to cover them as well (more vote buying).  Nothing about doctors dropping out of the system.  When you both increase demand, and reduce supply, what happens to the price?  I leave it to the "geniuses" in the Congress to answer that one.

     

    When you have to coerce, bribe and otherwise threaten reps and senators to get votes for something they don't like, you know it has to be garbage.

     

    To steal from Smuckers, "with a name like Obamacare, you know it has to be crap!"



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