Congress is buzzing about attacking health care after the Easter recess. Coming off the success of the tea parties nationwide, let’s carry that momentum to the fight to protect our rights as patients and Americans.
First, for those of you who are ready to act, the practical tools to get you started. Then, the background.
1. Sign this petition: It asks politicians to “First, Do No Harm” as they consider health reform. A quick look will give you plenty to shout about!
2. Enter this video contest: Think about all your fellow Americans who need to understand why we believe as we do about health care. Why don’t we want the federal government making decisions about our health and controlling our insurance coverage? Make a creative video that will reach your neighbors and arrest their attention!
What it’s all about:
If you’ve been focused on Tax Day and need a little catching up on health care, we’ve got you covered. The Health Policy Consensus Group, a coalition of free-market health policy experts, put together a statement expressing the dangers of proposals on the table. This gives a great rundown of what needs to be stopped, and why. Pass it around! [In case you’re wondering, the next Consensus Group statement will detail what we’re FOR – but first, we felt we needed to explain why we’re against these proposals.]
Some background:
Health care is a tax issue, too. We will be called upon to fund the $634-billion (some now say $1-trillion) health agenda of President Obama, and the billions for the Health and Human Services Department to head up health IT and comparative effectiveness research. But that’s only the beginning.
An individual mandate for health insurance – ordering everyone to purchase a certain government-determined policy – would carry tax penalties for those who don’t comply. In Massachusetts, where they’re a step ahead on this experiment, that annual penalty for noncompliance has passed the $1,000 mark and is rising.
Even more likely: new mandates on businesses to provide a government-designated level of benefits and to pay the piper if they don’t. Punishing businesses for hiring people isn’t the way to help workers already struggling in this economy.
Each new tax chips away at our freedom. And there are other freedoms in the balance in this debate. The creation of a public insurance program, whether it looks like a Medicare-for-all or a slight knockoff, threatens our options for health insurance. The hallmark of Medicare and Medicaid, those huge government insurance programs, is paying doctors and hospitals at much lower rates. Private insurance – that is, the rest of us – makes up the difference now, but what if private insurance isn’t around any more?
A new public (and yes, that means government-run, even though The New York Times thinks that term is fearmongering) health insurance plan would be able to set its premium prices far lower than private insurance. What business can compete with tax subsidies and severe underpricing?
Along with the artificially low premiums, a public insurance plan would more than likely pay doctors and hospitals less for their services than private insurance does. Medicare doesn’t even cover health providers’ costs. If millions more Americans join a public plan that pays like Medicare, we could face a serious crisis just to keep doctors and hospitals in business. Considering we already have a shortage of primary care doctors, this doesn’t sound like a grand idea.
You spread the word and got fired up about your taxes. Now what about your health? Your health, your freedom to make choices about your family’s health care, not to mention MORE taxes – these are worth your time.
Cross-posted at The Next Right.
