Over at TownHall.com, Arizona Rep. John Shadegg has a creative op-ed that seeks to personalize how the Democrat’s 1,900-page Obamacare bill would affect a middle-class family, notably through one fictitious Mary Smith.
Just about every adverse effect is covered by Shadegg, but the one that stands out the most to me, the one that exposes how damning this bill is, is the provision that would end Healthcare Savings Accounts. In a word, it’s un-American. I see no worthy aspect whatsoever in creating any disincentive of savings, whether for healthcare or something else. It really shows how power-hungry the Democrats are — any threat at all to their goal of centralized control and statism, even with something like an HSA, which until now had been universally applauded, will simply not be tolerated by the Democrats.
Mary gets her insurance through her employer. She has a plan that suits her needs, and has a great relationship with her doctors. She’d like more personal say in her plan, but like 83% of Americans, she’s basically happy with her care. Why don’t the politicians just fix what’s broken—cover those without care and people with pre-existing conditions? Instead, they are forcing her to change her plan. H.R. 3200, the House bill, changes every plan in America. Some are outlawed sooner, but virtually all are disqualified in five years.
Mary’s parents also lose the coverage they know, understand, and like. They have Medicare Advantage, which provides benefits they like over and above regular Medicare. Under Nancy Pelosi’s proposal and the Senate bill, that program will disappear.
What’s worse: when Mary goes shopping for a new plan, it will have been designed by a government bureaucracy, even if the so-called “public plan” isn’t adopted. These new, “government-approved” plans will make her pay for services she doesn’t need, and can’t afford, like alcohol and drug counseling, even if these aren’t health care concerns for Mary or her family. She’ll be forced to buy services she doesn’t want because it will be illegal to buy just what she needs. It’s like being forced to buy a multipack of cereal boxes when you know you’re only going to eat the corn flakes.
The government will dictate coverage requirements, reimbursement rates, prices—even “approved” marketing practices and “free” wellness coverage. “Free” wellness coverage? Who’s kidding who? She knows nothing is free. Of course costs will go up. Like it or not, Mary’s family will lose the plan they have and maybe the doctors they like and trust. And, the government is serious about making that happen. If Mary doesn’t comply and purchase a “government-approved” plan, she’ll be fined. If her conduct is willful, she’ll be guilty of a misdemeanor. When did health care “reform” become about punishing people instead of controlling costs and helping the uninsured?
With thousands of pages creating 53 new boards and bureaucracies, Mary will lose the freedom to make her own health care decisions. Washington politicians are seizing the power to control health care for their political gain.
Instead they should be giving Mary and millions of American families the ability to make their own choices, imposing discipline on health insurers and providers to control cost.
Mary won’t even be able to keep her Health Savings Account (HSA). For years, she has been putting money away tax-free to help cover future medical expenses. Why is Congress outlawing HSAs through the fine print of a 1,502 page bill?
Even her 22-year-old daughter, who is looking for her first job after college, will be hurt. She’ll be compelled to buy insurance at rates that subsidize the elderly. That’s right: the “government-approved” plans set the rates for the youngest and oldest, and Mary’s daughter’s policy will cost far more than the actual cost to insure a 22-year-old. Because the bills also compel all employers to provide coverage, the cost of hiring employees will go up and hurt her daughter’s chance of finding a job.