America For Purchase

The Republican health care plan introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Okla.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) introduced May 21,2009 is practically identical to the exact same plan Americans rejected under John McCain.  It is a very DANGEROUS plan for all Americans and our families.

The Republican plan offers to allow all Americans to purchase their own private health insurance (short summary (pdf), long summary (pdf), Q & A (pdf)).Sen. Coburn stated: “As a practicing physician, I have seen first-hand how giving government more control over health care has failed to make health care more affordable and accessible. The American people deserve health care reform that will work, not another round of so-called reform that repeats the same failed policies of the past. Congress and the administration have the opportunity to pursue bold reform and a fresh start. The Patients’ Choice Act will provide every American with access to affordable health care without a tax increase, more debt and waiting lines.”

The Republican Plan would provide tax credits of $2,300 per individual and $5,700 per family forcing families who want health care to buy it out right.

Candidate John McCain’s plan would have given individuals tax credits of $2,500 credit and $5,000 per family to pay for health insurance if they do not subscribe to, or do not have access to, employer-provided health care coverage.

These plans would actually cost American families more money because today the average cost of health insurance for a family of 4 is over $12,000 per year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, meaning American families would have to come up with an additional $6,300 each year!  Is this change? 

The Republican plan also FORCES people currently on Medicaid to purchase health insurance by giving them the same tax credits.  Americans on Medicaid cannot afford to pay these additional costs, they are on MEDICAID.  Are Republicans that ignorant?  You betcha!

The Republican plan really protects the huge profits of medical insurers, hospitals and physicians.  It actually will cost Americans thousands of out-of-pocket dollars in order to obtain coverage.  The truth of the Republican Plan:

• The Republican plan actually undermines the existing employer-based health care and pushes workers into the private market to fight big insurance companies on their own. It would reduce benefits, increase costs and leave many Americans with no health care at all.
• It will shift the tax burden from employers to workers and make health care premiums part of taxable income, essentially creating a new tax for working families.
• The plan will leave American workers at the mercy of big health insurance companies and essentially encourages employers to stop offering health care, pushing workers into an unregulated private insurance market to fend for themselves. Big insurance companies will be free to weed out people with health care needs, charge excessive premiums and limit benefits.
• Health care for Americans will be harder to obtain because pushing workers into the private health care market and promoting will encourage insurance companies to attract only the healthiest people, driving costs up overall. Insurance companies can decide to refuse to cover people with preexisting conditions, such as cancer survivors, or significantly increase the cost so many Americans with preexisting conditions could not afford the coverage. Retirees will have a particularly hard time getting health care.
• The availability of quality health care may be harder to find as individual states may offer varying degrees of coverage and there would be no consumer protection offered by multiple individual states.

The Republican Party who supported the free market of Wall Street greed leading to the financial collapse of America’s economy, their free market approach will NOT work as millions of Americans under their plan will not be able to afford health care since the cost is out of reach. 

 

Washington has done a better job of delivering Medicare health care and can also do so for Americans who chose a single-payer option.  True free market health care is to give people in this democracy a choice, not dictate they Americans must choose only one option.  Giving health care credits or tax incentives which only cover 50% of the cost of health insurance for families is not a change and would not work. 

 

Profits Over People – Health insurance companies and their employees contributed $2.2 million to the top 10 recipients in the House and Senate since 2005, while drug makers and their employees gave more than $3.3 million to top lawmakers: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), received $546,000; Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received $425,000; Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) received $413,000; Rep John Boehner (R-Ohio) received $257,000; Rep Eric Cantor (R-Va.) received $249,000; Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) received $104,000; Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) received $180,000.

 

Americans should not be suckered into believing Republicans have a viable plan for health care coverage, if they did they would have presented it during the past 8 years.  Republicans including Rep Tom Price have one goal and that is to protect the greed and profits for health care companies contributing to their campaigns.  Putting politics and profits over people, our children and families is the typical calling card of the GOP.  True change will occur when average poor and Middle America has an option to chose single-payer or private insurance at an affordable cost.  I suspect if American taxpayers did not provide health care for Mr. Price and his family and Mr. Price was not a politician, he might have a more realistic view on this issue.

In summary the Republican plan will cost Americans significantly more money, favors huge profits by the health care industry and will force more Americans out of coverage based on the higher costs for preexisting conditions.  On the other hand, Medicare, what some would refer to as socialized medicine, has been proven to cost less than private insurance and it cuts out the ‘middle’ man and pays benefits directly to the health care providers.

Any American who thinks the Republican Party is looking out for their personal health care interest is an idiot!  For Republicans, big profits, kickbacks and huge campaign donations to the GOP from the crooked health care industry and their lobbyists is what the Republican plan is all about. 

Americans overwhelmingly rebuked this option when John McCain was running for President and they supported the option of allowing Americans to keep their existing coverage or the option to change to a single-payer plan.  America, please do not be fooled, the Republican plan is anti-family and pro health industry profits.

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Filed under: American Injustice