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Well, the Dems finally managed to overcome the advantages of having a large majority in each house of Congress and a Democrat president, and somehow heroically managed to "push through" a medical bill for the citizens of the world's 37th "best" healthcare situation.
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The last rumored page count of the bill was 2700, but it may indeed have increased since that leak. In any event, it is certain that no one, no one person knows everything that's on those 2700 (?) pages.
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There are a few things that a few people know about this bill however that may be worth mentioning, for instance when does a desperately needed national medical bill enacted in early 2010 become effective? Answer: 2014. Yes, that is 2014!
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Let's see now, what happened to Single-Payer (as in a real national medical care system) and its second-string alternative, the much ballyhooed Public-Option? Apparently gifted away to the Republicans without notice to the citizens? Presto-Change-Oh! They simply disappeared from the debate. Oh, yes, there was something about "moving forward," don't you know.
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Then there are the fines -- if one chooses not to purchase medical insurance under the provisions of this bill, that person will be subject to a fine. Yes, I know there are some who will have it: "Wull, thet oughta lern 'em," but there is something to me that appears simply too wildly bizarre about fining an American citizen "fer his own gud" that's impossible to fit into any sane scheme of logic, any tradition, and to get my mentality and values to embrace. Apparently this was not a problem for our chosen and salaried...uh...representatives?
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Moving right along -- Any company that manufactures widgets, sells tractors, processes pet food, imports bananas or is involved in any commercial enterprise is subject to the provisions of the federal anti-trust laws -- well almost any, but the medical insurance companies are exempt from these laws, and this new bill does nothing to change that. So the insurance biggies are free to collude, combine and do other stuff illegal outside the prudent arena of American legal restrictions with impunity. Do you think they would do anything to increase the cost of their products with their now to be enlarged market? You can bet your aspirin on it, or better, those multi-hundred dollar proprietary prescription pharmaceuticals. (Fact is that medical insurance rates have just recently been largely increased in anticipation of this bill.)
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There are some things that no one has figured out yet about this bill. The first of these are a reduction in Medicare funding and some new limitations on Medicare Advantage Plans that many seniors now take out to help costs not covered by vanilla Medicare. Few folks not yet qualified for Medicare benefits realize that Medicare is not free, but its recipients are monthly docked a stipend from their Social Security, and if one also opts for a Medicare Advantage Plan, that person is liable for an additional reduction of one's Social Security income.
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My wife and I, both seniors, in 2009 paid for Medicare, Medicare Advantage Plans, co-pays for doctors and prescriptions, and for optical and dentals costs, a total out-of-pocket cost in excess of $9,000.
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Did that strain our resources? It certainly did. Do some others pay more? You bet. And the point here is -- for those anticipating a medical gravy train once they qualify for Medicare -- you'd do well to disabuse your minds that Medicare is such, and to make what provisions you can for your future medical costs, costs that usually increase as you get older.
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And we'd all do well to watch this new wondrous-Democrat-monument of a medical bill with its license for abuse of normal anti-trust restrictions, its future pricing by the insurance cartel, its limitations in dental, optical and mental treatments, its mind boggling complexity, and the actual manifestations of its many, many unknowns.
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One seriously wonders how much, if any, this new bill will bring America up the ladder from its current position down on the 37th rung.
