Health reform math - Democrats style
When health care reform started, a key goal was to lower the cost of coverage. Here is the Democrats idea of how to lower health care coverage costs.
First the "facts" (the text below is taken from the NY Times):
"Before taking account of federal subsidies to help people buy insurance on their own, the [Congressional Budget Office or C.B.O.] said the [Senate health care reform] bill would tend to drive up premiums. But as a result of the subsidies, it said, most people in the individual insurance market would see their costs decline, compared with the costs expected under current law. The subsidies, a main feature of the bill, would cost the government nearly $450 billion in the next 10 years and would cover nearly two-thirds of premiums for people who receive them.
"For most people who get health insurance through employers — five-sixths of the total market — the budget office concluded that there would be little change in their premiums relative to the amounts projected under current law."
Now the Democrats conclusion (from the same NY Times article on Nov. 30):
“ 'The C.B.O. has rendered a fundamental judgment that this will reduce the deficit and reduce people’s premium costs,' said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.
So to the Democrats, the way to "reduce people's premium costs" is to raise those costs so that the Government can hand out money to some people so they can afford the higher premiums.
The resulting government policy is:
a. The majority of people will be dependent on handouts from the Federal Government
b. People who make too much money to qualify for the handouts don't get a reduction in premium costs, they get an increase in premium costs.
c. As you earn more money the federal subsidies go down, ultimately they go away. Thus, the Democrats are requiring everyone to buy insurance and then penalizing people for earning more money.
So the message from the Democrats and the Obama Administration is if you are currently making an income that qualifies for a subsidy stay there and don't try to get ahead in life. To make sure you do stay there, we'll penalize you if you try to get ahead.
Gee - that doesn't sound like change I can believe in.
First the "facts" (the text below is taken from the NY Times):
"Before taking account of federal subsidies to help people buy insurance on their own, the [Congressional Budget Office or C.B.O.] said the [Senate health care reform] bill would tend to drive up premiums. But as a result of the subsidies, it said, most people in the individual insurance market would see their costs decline, compared with the costs expected under current law. The subsidies, a main feature of the bill, would cost the government nearly $450 billion in the next 10 years and would cover nearly two-thirds of premiums for people who receive them.
"For most people who get health insurance through employers — five-sixths of the total market — the budget office concluded that there would be little change in their premiums relative to the amounts projected under current law."
Now the Democrats conclusion (from the same NY Times article on Nov. 30):
“ 'The C.B.O. has rendered a fundamental judgment that this will reduce the deficit and reduce people’s premium costs,' said Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.
So to the Democrats, the way to "reduce people's premium costs" is to raise those costs so that the Government can hand out money to some people so they can afford the higher premiums.
The resulting government policy is:
a. The majority of people will be dependent on handouts from the Federal Government
b. People who make too much money to qualify for the handouts don't get a reduction in premium costs, they get an increase in premium costs.
c. As you earn more money the federal subsidies go down, ultimately they go away. Thus, the Democrats are requiring everyone to buy insurance and then penalizing people for earning more money.
So the message from the Democrats and the Obama Administration is if you are currently making an income that qualifies for a subsidy stay there and don't try to get ahead in life. To make sure you do stay there, we'll penalize you if you try to get ahead.
Gee - that doesn't sound like change I can believe in.
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