Disinformation and Distortion in the Health Care Debate

In his address last night to the the nation on the need for health care reform, President Obama sought to dispel the myriad of myth and distortion swirling around in the morass of vitriolic debate simmering throughout the land. He addressed the criticisms and categorically denied the validity of the bogus claims being made to kill the reform at all costs.

In his first point, Obama clearly and categorically refuted one of the primary claims that the proposed reform is a trojan horse for Universal Single Payer Coverage.

• "Here are the details that every American needs to know about this plan. First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have. (Applause.) Let me repeat this: Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have."

Unfortunately, there is language in the plan that precisely alters the type coverage and ultimately the doctor that you will be permitted to use. In HR 3200 Section 102, titled Protecting the Choice To Keep Current Coverage it states:

• (1) Limitation of New Enrollment (A) Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of Y1.
• (2) Limitation On Changes and Terms in Conditions Subject to paragraph (3) and except as required by law, the issuer does not change any of its terms or conditions, including benefits and cost-sharing, from those in effect as of the day before the first day of Y1.

Essentially, Section 102 Paragraph 1 says that no new private insurance policies will be allowed to be written after the effective date of the legislation. Let me repeat this: no new policies will be written. So if you don't yet have coverage, then you will not be able to opt for private insurance, instead you will be required to join the Government Option.

Secondly, Section 102 Paragraph 2 says that there can be no changes to existing policies. In other words, you cannot switch to a new job and keep your employer provided private insurance. A new job means that you will go onto the government system. Also, the insurance company cannot raise or lower premiums on your policy because this would trigger your enrollment in the Government Option.

Let's recap. Section 102 states that there can be no new policies written and that there can be no changes to existing policies. Insurance companies will be required to function with built-in price controls against a government system that is not only subsidized by the taxpayer but will never have to run profitably to stay in business. If no new policies can be written, there is no incentive for insurance companies to stay in business when faced with a relentless reduction in market share.

HR 3200 is specifically designed to asphyxiate the private insurance industry making it impossible to provide coverage in order to drive Americans onto the government system. So when President Obama said that "nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have," what he means to say is that "nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have, for now".

http://thomas.loc.gov/