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The National Organization for Women said the "Bill Obliterates Women's Fundamental Right to Choose" that became law in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, and is still the law of the land. The Court held that a woman may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up to when "the fetus becomes viable."
HR 3962 violates that right. Except in cases of rape, incest, or if a woman faces death, the Stupak (D. MI) amendment prohibits using federal money for insurance covering abortion. It prevents women participating in insurance exchanges from using their own money to buy abortion coverage. It denies low-income women access to it entirely.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it:
-- will cost $1.055 trillion over the next decade, netting out at $894 billion after revenue enhancements;
-- mandates coverage and penalizes those without it up to 2.5% of their income;
-- insurance for individuals earning $44,000 pre-tax will be $5,300, plus another $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for an annual $7,300 total, or 17% of their annual income; families earning $102,000 pre-tax will pay $15,000 in premiums plus another $5,300 in out-of-pocket costs for a total annual $20,300 cost, or 20% of their annual income; those earning below these amounts will be eligible for subsidies, based on a sliding scale, paid directly to insurers;
-- includes a watered-down public option by setting up insurance exchanges through which low income households are subsidized to make coverage more affordable; the plan is so weak, only an estimated 6 million or fewer will qualify; Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) lists myths and facts about it below;
-- expands eligibility for Medicaid;
-- lowers the federal deficit by $104 billion by 2019 and even more in the following ten years;
-- "substantially reduce(s) the growth of Medicare's payment rates for most services" by cutting over $400 billion in costs; the true figure is much higher; more on that below; and
-- leaves 18 million uninsured by 2019, including about six million undocumented immigrants; the Senate Finance Committee's bill leaves 25 million uninsured.
Pre-existing condition exclusions will be prohibited, but insurers may charge what they wish, so effectively nothing changes. Endorsing the bill:
-- the drug cartel;
-- the American Medical Association;
-- the US Conference of Catholic Bishops because of the anti-abortion provision; and
-- the AARP, an insurance/financial broker masquerading as an advocacy group for anyone aged 50 or older.
