WHAT THE NEW U.S. HEALTH CARE LAW SAYS & MEANS

Regardless of the political rhetoric an hype, the middle-class [ those with annual earnings between $35,000. and $88,000. ] as always, will shoulder the burden and pay the price for Health Care reform. The HC Bill does not prevent Health insurers from increasing premiums related to rising health and prescription drug costs, and mandates substantial new risks that insurers will translate into significant premium increases. Let's face reality, something Congress fails to do when passing legislation. The new law mandates that folks cannot be excluded because of preexisting conditions AND eliminates caps on payouts for care. Sounds great, but the reality is that Health Insurers are in business, a business for PROFIT, even through technically incorporated as a non-profit. The bottom line: premiums are going to SKYROCKET !!!

Congress says “...don't worry middle class and poor...” we have you covered; we will subsidize your health care premium costs, on a sliding scale, of course; less for the family making $88,000 annually, more for the family making $30,000 or less annually, by taxing the rich, defined as those making more then $200,000.00 annually. Sounds great, but Congress and most U.S. High School graduates are not good at math. Using government figures this translates into around 900,000 high earners who will be subject to a 3.8% tax generating at best $ 3 billion to 3.5 billion in added revenue. This new tax will be a drop in the bucket when the costs of adding 31 million now uninsured, plus an additional 12 million who will become uninsured ( as a result of the recession and unemployment ); 41 million NEW insureds. In the next two years ( 2012) there is a probability of immigration reform, that will add an additional 20 million to the subsidy roll. The realistic number of persons entitled to a government health subsidy( your taxpayer dollars ) by 2014, jumps to 63 million.

Under the new law, the average family of four ( 4 ) minimum monthly health insurance premium will be in the $1000.00 range; $12,000. 00 a year plus co-pays. 75% of the new 63 million enrollees' will be subsidized; 47million 250thousand ( 47, 250,000 ) x ( times ) a 50% subsidy means the government (you the taxpayer via Congress) will have to come up with a minimum of $2 trillion 835 billion dollars by 2014 to fund the program, and this does NOT INCLUDE the costs of medicare.

The other reality is that by 2012, according to U.S. Government figures, 23% of the U.S. Population ( estimated to be 350 million ) will be over 65 years of age and on medicare: 80 million 500 thousand medicare beneficiaries. Even by CUTTING MEDICARE payments to $6,000 per year per senior [ currently around $9900.00 a year per medicare senior is paid to Medicare Advantage providers ] and by REDUCING COVERAGE[to bare bones/guaranteeing early death ] the government will have to come up with an additional $ 483 billion dollars pushing the 2014 deficit to OVER $3,200,000,000,000.00 TRILLION FOR HEALTH CARE ALONE.

How about coverage: on PAPER everyone will have coverage; but try and find a M.D. who will accept the medicaid or medicare payment as total payment for his or her bill. Go on, go ask your doctor.

Crank up the presses, the dollar........ will it be worth 10 cents ? What is our banker ( China ) going to say ? Hello, … another bankrupt nation headed toward third world status.

National Health Debate - Starting Point Missing

As the Obama Administration, Congress and nation continue to spar regarding health coverage for U.S. Citizens, and the 40+ million who are uninsured; a material item is missing from the debate: a $ dollar starting point.

None of the various "plans " address participant costs. The cart has been placed before the horse, and debates, without financial foundation, will drowned in rhetoric. Until there is agreement on feasible participant premiums there will be limited progress in resolving the U.S. national health disgrace.

The horse needs to be put back in the lead, before, and not after, the cart. Until the "masters of the universe" in Washington, D.C., can agree on participant premiums, a dollar starting point, meaningful discussion will remain vacuous. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Medicare, on an income adjusted scale, pegs $96.40 a month per person, as the average participant premium. Any National
( U.S.A. ) plan should peg participant premiums be it $96.40 per month per person or $250.00 per month for a family of four, some dollar starting point needs to be agreed on before meaningful discussion can go forward.

Once a dollar participant premium is established,the debate can meaningfully move forward to determine what coverage can be purchased for the participant premium;what type of coverage will $96.40 a month buy ? There hundreds of HMO's and Health Insurers that can provide data addressing coverage given a participant premium amount. Caps are needed, including caps to Medicare payouts: e.g., no more then $200,000.00( two-hundred thousand dollars, drugs included ) in services to any participant or family during any one year, with a million dollar lifetime cap. For any "plan" to become law, there must be limitations and caps, a carte blanche system, or expanded Medicare, will bankrupt this Nation.

IF and it's a BIG IF, congress focuses on who will be included in any plan ( should be limited to U.S. citizens over 18 ), and can agree on a monthly dollar participant premium, there may be a chance debates over coverage can be resolved within financially feasible parameters, providing coverage through existing HMO's and Insurance Carriers with limited government participation. The U.S. government should limit it's direct participation to mandating uniform records keeping, billing, claims, dispute resolution and service classification standards; and publishing plan and coverage comparisons available in each State, similar to what Medicare publishes each year for Medicare Advantage plans.