Posts Tagged ‘National healthcare’

Now, more than at any point in American history, the basic tenets of Freedom and Liberty are being taken away from us by this Liberal Congress.  The passage last night of “Pelosi-Care” means you will no longer be able to determine your own choices for your health care needs. Rep. Corrine Brown once again disregarded the majority of the voices of the American people and voted “Yea” for this bill.

Under this plan, if you choose to not purchase health insurance, you will be fined 2.5% of your income. Refuse to pay the fine, and you will get a $250,000 fine and could get up to 5 years in the Penitentiary for making a free will choice.

If you are a small business, you will be forced to either provide health insurance for your employees, or you will be fined up to 8% of your payroll. That applies to many of you that have your own small business and are simply trying to survive. Needless to say, many small businesses are going to either close or start laying off more people to cover these costs.

If you are on Medicare, your Medicare Advantage options will be cut and you will be forced onto the regular Medicare plans. AARP supported this simply because they stand to make a windfall in new Medigap Insurance sales since they are not part of the Medicare Advantage plans.

The AMA supported this as well since separate legislation closed the “Doc Gap” in Medicare reimbursements at the cost of $200 billion in YOUR tax dollars. Without that happening, further cuts in Medicare payments could/would force many physicians to simply deny care to our Seniors under Medicare.http://yostforcongress.com/blog/wp-admin/post-new.php

An estimated 18 million will be forced into Medicaid. This will further add to the States financial burdens and needless to say, YOUR taxes will increase to cover the millions of people forced into this substandard level of coverages. This especially hits the poor, the under-employed, and unemployed. There will definitely be 2 distinct classes of people who are insured- those with plans and those with Medicaid. It also provides for Illegal Aliens to be afforded benefits under this plan.

The government also dictates the types of coverages being offered, removes the ability of insurance companies to deny coverages because of pre-existing conditions, and limits contributions to an HSA to $2500. Subsidies up to $10,500 per family will be available for coverage purchases. The overall costs is estimated at over $1.3 TRILLION in spending, further adding to the DEBT of this nation.

The increases in taxes is going to result in the largest tax increase in history. It is estimated that over the next 10 years, another $700 BILLION in new taxes for this plan are added. That translates into an additional $6500 per taxpayer. This massive redistribution of YOUR income is a blatant disregard for economic growth and for your pocketbook.

Now, more then ever, it is vital you become involved in electing people who can turn back this legislation. Mike promises that, when elected, he will fight to repeal this bill should it become law. He believes in the free market approach with reforms that will work. This includes real tort reforms, allowing purchases of insurance across state lines, and allowing employers to form cooperatives to allow the volume purchases for more employees. His plan will not force you into doing something you don’t choose to do and keeps your Constitutional freedoms and liberties intact.

Now, more than ever, Mike needs your help. Unless he can get elected, nothing will change and the Liberals will continue to take our nation in a direction that leads to less freedom, fewer choices, and an economic destruction that will make the Great Depression pale in comparison.

Volunteer, donate, and support Mike and bring honest, Conservative principles and values to America. With your help, “Let’s Take it Back”…in 2010 can become a reality.

Overwhelmingly, Americans don’t want the health care reforms coming out of Washington. During the worse economic crisis it’s going to be tough to make the American taxpayer swallow huge penalties for not carrying health insurance, taxes on health insurance plans if you have certain levels of benefits, and funding more bureaucratic mazes than you care to discuss. No one in Washington is listening to the people and the ballot box in 2010 is going to tell what the peoples frustrations really are.

There is little, if any, “bi-partisan” efforts to bring the reforms people want:

• Lower costs of health care
• Lower premium costs of coverages they desire
• Portability of coverage that is not dependent on ones job
• Tax benefits for premiums paid
• Reductions in fraud and waste in Medicare and Medicaid
• Non-denial of coverages due to pre-existing conditions
• Timely claims payments by health insurance companies of all claims submitted
• Better understanding of what benefits are available under health insurance plans

With those things in mind, let’s look at real and bold ideas that will work and do so without dismantling our current health care provider system;

1. Real tort reforms that cap levels of punitive damages juries can award in malpractice cases. The costs of “preventative” medicine to protect our medical personnel from lawsuits will drop dramatically. Costs of malpractice insurance will drop as well. This one initiative alone can reduce health care costs an estimated 20-30%.
2. Tort reform will lower premium costs as will allowing across state line competition of health insurance carriers. Establishing health insurance co-ops will allow people to use the purchasing power of larger groups to obtain their own coverages as their needs might be.
3. With the establishment of Health Savings Accounts NOT dependent on one’s job, you can set aside money, tax free, to purchase your own coverages. Additionally, an employer could also add to your HSA as a benefit of employment. You control the plan you desire, the premiums you pay, and the HSA could be used for any out of pocket deductibles, co-payments, drug purchases, dental care, vision care, or over the counter health treatment costs. Government could easily subsidize low income families through an HSA and allow private insurance and personal choice to be the guide for responsibility of the individuals health care needs.
4. By using the HSA’s, you are able to allow tax-free accumulations of money used to fund health care expenses. No one can tell you to purchase coverages, but better education of individuals is needed to explain that you may not need it today, but the day is certain when you will. Younger people would be encouraged to participate, even with higher deductible plans that further reduces coverage costs long term.
5. Medicare and Medicaid fraud and waste account for roughly $500 Billion in costs to the taxpayer/recipients. There is no controls set up to determine benefit payments to providers for double billing, fraudulent claims, or any other method to track payments. These areas must be addressed immediately rather than continuing to cut benefits to these programs for our Seniors and Medicaid recipients.
6. No one can expect an insurance company to insure your house as it sits in flames, burning to the ground. You simply waited too late to insure it. You may never use your homeowners policy, but the fact is, IF you do need it, you better have it in advance of a loss. Health care should be treated no differently, but there needs to be a method of insuring the uninsured through various state level pools that will accept risks not insurable through normal channels. Waiting periods for pre-existing conditions must be realistic and disclosed fully to the purchaser. There is one difference in homeowners and health insurance- you WILL use your health care benefits eventually and people must be educated that purchasing while healthy and insurable is less costly in the long term.
7. If you ask any Doctor or Hospital what is their most undesirable role is and it is filing claims. Our current system becomes clogged with claims due to the necessary coding of claims and nothing works efficiently. Claims get denied, refiled, denied again, phone calls made, and eventually either the patient is billed or the insurance company pays. Claims need to be funded directly to the patient, not the provider. You obtain two benefits in doing this. First, the HSA account is paid directly (and the patient pays the provider), within 5 days of a claim being filed (electronically), and insurance companies are “on the hook” for any claim submitted on coverages that are over 6 months old- PERIOD. Secondly, medical care providers will post fee schedules and will follow those schedules. Patients know the costs upfront and are then free to look for better value if they desire. This creates competition and drives down costs as well. Simply look at Lasik surgery, cosmetic surgery, and other non-insured medical care; competition has brought the costs down where people who desire these procedures are able to pay for them from their own source of funds.
8. Insurance policies must be written in plain, simple English where people can understand up front what is covered and what is excluded. Summaries of coverages must not be misleading and any exclusions be made upfront. Failure to write summaries properly will result in immediate claims payments by insurers.

Just to make it even more cost effective, I propose a couple of more ideas that will further bring down health care costs:

1. Establishing of Clinics locally, near Hospitals, where those with illnesses are able to use them rather than the Hospital Emergency rooms. These will be staffed by Medical staff, primarily Interns under a Physician, and Residence Physicians. When an Intern or Resident takes this route to become a Primary Care Physician, he/she would see the following benefits- First year a 20% tax credit for any medical school loans outstanding and an additional 20% tax credit for every year (up to 4) for staying in the program. Additionally, if they remain in the area to start a private practice, they are able to take patients who wish to follow them into their practices. It’s a win-win situation. First, Hospital triage could refer those needing medical treatment (non-emergency) to the clinic(s) and the costs are reduced dramatically as opposed to Emergency room care. The patient receives the medical care they need and then understand that things like colds, contining care and non-life threatening treatments are best handled at the clinics, not the emergency room. More physicians are encouraged to become Primary Care physicians and the shortages are alleviated there as well as more opportunity is available for those entering medicine.
2. Cost shifting drives up overall health care costs simply because cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments force Physicians and Hospitals to overcharge private pay or insurance plans to cover the losses from government programs. Medicare needs to be placed on sound, actuarial rating of Part B and D plans. Currently, those plans reduction in benefits as well as cost increases are leaving many of our seniors with out of pocket expenses and Medigap coverage costs increasing annually. These reductions, by government, are creating even more cost shifting to our non-Medicare/Medicaid patients. Eliminating the $500 Billion in payments for fraud/waste will not force annual reductions in Medicare benefit payments, but could actually allow increases in those payments to providers that is more realistic to actual charges incurred. Today, in areas with a high concentration of seniors, there are more and more Physicians who are not taking any new Medicare patients and few are willing to accept Medicaid due to the reductions in benefit payout. Unless a complete overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid is done, either further benefit reductions and/or tax increases will have to occur. By 2017 Medicare is bankrupt and Medicaid is already fully funded by taxpayers and government has no other choices than above to bring these programs under control.
3. There are an estimated 3800 mandated coverages nationwide from state to state. These usually are for anything from exotic diseases to maternity benefits. It is more cost effective to have most every mandated coverage to be optional coverages the individual could add as they see fit. A single male that is no longer able to father a child has no need for any maternity benefits, breast reconstruction benefits, etc. He however, might desire other coverages to suit his particular needs and could have those as an option to add to his/her plan. Mandated coverages serve only to drive up health care premiums and seldom achieve any real benefit to the vast majority of insureds. If a woman has a family history of breast disease and desires a reconstructive surgery benefit, then that could be optional coverage rather than mandated for all policyholders. The same type of optional coverages is used in homeowners, auto, and life policies and can easily be adapted to health insurance coverages as well.

Yes, these are bold ideas and require bold leadership to bring to fruition. It takes someone who believes enough in doing what is right for the people, not for political gain, to bring these ideas forward and for all to examine and debate. To some, these may seem controversial and to others, make common sense in their application and implementation.

Without those willing to advance these objectives forward, little will be done and the lack of leadership in Washington today will assure their demise. Help elect Mike Yost to Congress and have someone who will stand up for real, genuine and honest health care reforms that will work, will not force a loss of existing coverages or destroy our health care delivery system, and will bring leadership to Washington with common sense solutions to our nations greatest concerns.

This morning, Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government/Big Hollywood website released a preliminary expose’ on the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) using a conference call to, apparently, do a bit of arm twisting to promote the Health Care reforms of the President. Also on board this call was the lead official of the Serve.gov, Buffy Wicks. Serve.gov has been shown to be nothing more than a portal for “job and service” opportunities with ACORN and other leftist front groups as well.

At noon, we have been promised even more damning evidence of what happened. As reported by various news sources, and seemingly not front page news, there has been over $2 million of NEA money paid out to 16 of the 21 groups who are now on board with promoting the Presidents initiatives.

Michael “Mike” Yost released this statement this morning:

“From all appearances, this Administration has been using every resource available, including government funded agencies, to promote his health care agenda. Using taxpayer funded groups, who have no such authority in their charters to promote political positions, is a violation of the public trust. If using this type of arm twisting, by threats of de-funding anyone who disagrees or fails to get “on board” with the President is shown to be the case, then in my opinion, shows this President will stoop to no level to achieve his agenda.”

Yost further calls this method of pressing issues nothing more than an other example of Chicago style thuggery at its best:

“If this is what we can expect from our government we have in place today, then we the American people are in for a very long ride towards a government that isn’t “FOR the people” of this nation. If what is going to be released is what I think it is going to be, then this will no doubt lead directly to the White House. If Congress fails in it’s duties to get to the bottom of this ordeal, then the American people should take this directly to their Representatives and call for investigations.”

Yost further added that:

“If Republican leadership is complicit in not calling for investigations, then they will deserve what they get in 2010. Democrats as well should be up in arms over this, but you can bet that few will even come out of hiding to address this issue. I would bet that Rep. Corrine Brown doesn’t have a clue as to what is happening, and many artists here in the Jacksonville and Orlando areas are funded directly by the NEA.”

After the release of all the information, Mr. Yost will issue further statements.

Please support Michael “Mike” Yost as he tries to bring transparency and leadership to Washington. With you help, we can have real Representation in Congress that will not tolerate this type of activity by this Administration. Contribute today and help elect Michael “Mike” Yost to Congress in 2010.