More on health care

President Obama, during his campaign, gave 3 promises about health care.

1. If you were satisfied with your health insurance, nothing would change,

2. If you need health coverage, you would have access to health insurance as least as good as the members of Congress, and

3. Health care costs would decrease for American families (I believe the amount of $2500 was bandied about).

As for the first point, your private health insurance will change according the bill introduced by Senator Kennedy. The federal government would take much of the control of health insurance away from the states and place it in the hands of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The federal goverment will decide which medical treatments and benefits are deemed appropriate, and HHS will determine which insurance plans "qualify".

Hmmm....sounds like they're meddling with my health insurance.....

And it seems that the prospects for having private health insurance are dim. Kennedy's bill proposes, well, basically a penalty on employees and individuals on their private health insurance--to support the government insurance.

Doesn't sound good for my health plan.

Something else that is bothersome is that power will be taken away from the states to adapt insurance to local needs. Congress will determine insurance rates as well as "organize the market for competing health plans."

I'm not exactly sure how you "organize a market," but it doesn't sound good for us consumers.

As far as our health costs decreasing, even Newsweek describes President Obama's plans "naive, hypocritical, or simply dishonest" in the spending catagory. The CBO--Congressional Budget Office--states that health care proposals will lead to further increases in the national debt. More in the red. And their proposal to help this leak of red is to slash payments to doctors and hospitals and to tax us on our health care.

Sources: Heritage.org

Washington Post

Newsweek

Next--Are there other ways to deal with health care reform?