The Senate Finance Committee today released a 223 report explaining its health care plan.  This is not the legislation itself but rather a report that step by step explains the current system, how the legilsation would change it and the legislative intent behind the changes.  Us lawyers call it "legislative history" and courts often use such documents to determine the legislative intent behind law.

You can read this report in full at:  http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG%202009/091609%20Americas_Healthy_Future_Act.pdf

There is also an 18 page summary available here:  http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb091609.pdf

This is the bill that the so called "gang of six" were working on as one remaining shot at a bipartisan bill.  In the end Baucus gave up on that and released this is a Democrat only backed bill saying he will continue to work towards getting Republican support.

It does not include the public option plan, but instead creates a series of non-profit "coops" to compete with private insurance.  It would cost less than the Obama plan but would still run $880 billion over ten years. 

"A man never drinks anything that a plant lives in" --DBone (A Real Man).
http://vimeo.com/4938173

AND it contains TONS of new taxes on everything from condoms to tapons and pretty much every other material that could be used for health care. It also taxes, through the private insurance companies the individuals that already have decent health care insurance. It also fines any tax paying adult who does not have health coverage.

Notice the academic liberal leftist push to tax soft drinks, juices, and any other sweet drink? It is trying to lay the ground for the leftist dems to present a bill to do that also in an effort to pay for health care.

And Obama just plain came out and said it was his objective to provide amnesty to illegals that have been here for five years or more so that THEY can get HEALTH CARE!

I want this whole damn thing killed. If it doesn't have:
1. Tort reform
2. Allow private insurance companies to sell across state borders by standardizing all requirments nationally so as to provide ths same level of competition that we get from auto insurance.
3. Require all members of the government be they elected, appointed, or federal government civil service workers to go on the government plan. The exceptions being the military and it's direct chain of command. Meaning all members of the military, the Sec of each service, the sec. Def, and president will live under the military system.

De Oppresso Liber

I'm not opposed to taxes to pay for effective health care reform. It has to be paid for somehow and the people claiming it can be done without taxes are lying to us. I'd rather an honest approach that spells out how it will be paid for than smoke and mirror BS about "savings" on fraud and abuse and so forth. And I'd rather the American people contribute to this with taxes and fund it rather than adding to the deficit.


"A man never drinks anything that a plant lives in" --DBone (A Real Man).
http://vimeo.com/4938173

My response to your opinion on this can best be summed up with this:
Medicare is broke
Medicaide is broke
Social Security is broke
Fannie Mae is broken and damn near broke us
Freddie Mac is broken

And so why would anyone think that the government should be in charge of our bodies welfare? Why would anyone believe any government claims about costs? The government needs to govern, NOT try to manage. To govern properly it should make laws that do actually protect the consumer BUT which also facilitate efficiency in the private sector so that IT can, in an environment of free enterprise and competition, provide cost effective health insurance.

To do anything else is repugnant to the very ideas and principles this nations government was founded as expressed in their writings and in the Constitution. PERIOD!

De Oppresso Liber

Rob, the health financing system is broke. Americans spend too much money on health care and get too little in return.

I've read the Constitution carefully. There is nothing in there on this issue or precluding even a single payer system if that's what people chose to do through their elected representatives.


"A man never drinks anything that a plant lives in" --DBone (A Real Man).
http://vimeo.com/4938173