Posted by
Roxanna M. on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 6:47:40 PM
It was only a short time ago we learned that three VA hospitals - a/k/a government-run healthcare - had exposed 11,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis because of the criminal negligence of doctors who felt no need to sterilize endoscopic equipment between patients. Got to save money, dontcha know.
Never willing to let facts get in the way of a good scheme, dimocrats believe that now is the time to (finally) introduce socialized medicine into America, notwithstanding today's headline that says that Medicare - a/k/a/ government-run healthcare - is going broke sooner than expected.
One of the ways they're looking to do this is to tax employer-provided health benefits. Max Baucus (D-MT) said that revenue could be generated by taxing portions of the benefit based on income levels or based on the value of the plan. More comprehensive, costlier plans would be taxed at a higher rate.
In a nutshell, you're going to be taxed on money you never received and benefits you may not have used. The really sticky part is: who gets to claim the income tax deduction. It would be unfair not to allow the employer to claim 100% of the amount it paid, but also unfair not to allow the worker some kind of deduction for something he's getting taxed on. And I can guarantee you this: the IRS is not going to allow two people to claim a deduction on one amount.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the projected revenue would bring in less than 10% of the projected cost, which trust me, is a whole lot less than the actual cost.
Dimocrats claim to know that a Canadian-style, single-payer system is not going to work here in America. They are lying to us with their claim that there's going to be a government-run system that would compete with private insurers. That's the hook.
At the beginning, the government-run system will be cheaper, which will encourage people to jump on board. As more and more people leave the private sector, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and all their brethren will keep having to increase their rates, which will cause more and more people to run to Uncle Sam. Eventually, the private companies will be squeezed out and VOILA! what the dimocrats couldn't do directly and honestly will have been accomplished.
Hawaii just tried this, with the inevitable results. Tennessee tried government-run healthcare and nearly went bankrupt because of it.
Here is a simple solution: health insurance should only be for emergencies and catastrophic care. If you want to go to the doctor for your runny nose or because little Johnny has the sniffles or because you're lonely and want someone to talk to, then you're going to have to pay for it yourself.
There is one inescapable fact: want more of something, subsidize it. Once legislatures started mandating that insurance cover more and more, and people bought into the fiction that they could have all the health care they wanted for a $10 co-pay, the crisis began.
Just to show you how stupid people really are, Tennessee has just introduced a low-cost plan. It will pay for you to go to the doctor once a month, but it won't pay for anything big. So, if you get really hurt or get cancer or Parkinsons or Lou Gehrigs, you're on your own. What kind of moron thinks this is a good thing?
The same kind of morons who think they can socialize health care in America and actually make it work.