NOTE: Information in numbered items in bold below comes from Republican Party literature handed out at a health care rally in Nashville on August 13, 2009; the information following each numbered item is a response to the false non-documented propaganda contained in the Republican Party-endorsed handout.
1. We need to reform health care. It costs too much.
Republicans under Bush did nothing to reform the health care industry. There is no historical track record of Republican health care reform. Thus, current proposals reek of partisan political charades and complete and total dishonesty.
2. Make health insurance portable so Americans can keep their coverage when they change jobs.
This does nothing to reduce dramatically rising health care costs, eliminate high deductibles and co-payments, help the uninsured or people with pre-existing conditions or, prevent insurers from refusing to cover the sickest among us. And, this wasn't proposed by Republicans prior to the 2008 campaign.
3. Provide tax credits to make health care more affordable and accessible.
In addition to solving none of the things noted previously, this was first proposed by John McCain while running for president. Prior to that, there is no record of Republican tax credit proposals. On the contrary, Republicans in Congress under Bush pushed to reduce federal funding, including opposing helping uninsured children.
4. President Obama and Democrats are conducting a dangerous 1.6 trillion dollar experiment with our health care.
When cost savings are factored in, the actual cost would be about 100 billion per year. This is less than 1/30th of the estimated cost for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Apparently, Republicans believe pretending to protect us from harm in foreign lands is more important than protecting Americans against contagious diseases and death from lack of health care here at home. Tax cuts for the wealthy under Bush alone would cover this cost and, provide a home for every homeless veteran as well. Annual losses in national productivity, due to the spread of common contagious diseases easily preventable if everyone had access to health care, cost Americans far more than proposed reforms.
5. Raise taxes by 800 billion, mostly on small business.
President Obama has proposed raising taxes on personal net income over 250K to help pay for health care reform. Republican opposition is a continuation of the ongoing "Joe the Plumber" lie never dissected properly by the media; almost no plumbers or owners of small independently-owned companies earn over 250K annually after deductions. Also, businesses employing less than 50 people will not be required to pay for health care under proposed reforms.
6. Create a national set of one-size-fits-all regulations, making health care more expensive for everyone.
This is not at all what Obama and the Democrats are proposing but even if it was, it would serve to greatly reduce the cost for everyone, if the health care industry was forced to bid against the entire U.S. population base.
7. Impose new regulations for existing plans that would make your employer drop your plan or make your current insurance carrier stop offering your plan.
Proposed regulations would actually have the opposite effect than what is pretended in Republican propaganda. They include requiring employers to insure employees or else, pay a penalty to offset the costs of a government option. New regulations would force insurers to accept all people, regardless of pre-existing conditions and, require them to cease dropping patients who are deemed "too expensive" for profit margins.
8. Create a government run insurance option that would unfairly drive out competitors to become a monopoly.
Since deregulation began under Ronald Reagan, major insurance corporations have essentially become a monopoly, unfairly driving out smaller competitors and, insurers who attempted to provide honest coverage. Predominately supported by Republicans, deregulation eliminated rules that once prevented the industry from refusing to pay for expensive treatments and, protected poor and elderly patients from being literally dumped out the backs of ambulances onto Skid Row, as was famously video taped and revealed on national television.
It's true the Democrats are grossly in error regarding health care, bowing to corporate pressure and pretending that we can expect to survive as a modern nation, while leaving insurance industry profits in the way of achieving quality affordable health care for us all. History has over and over again proven this to be a complete and total lie. But. . . Who is really, really, really lying about health care? You decide.
Link to documentation, notes and other information
http://freedomtracks.com/500/healthcare.html
Richard Aberdeen
Nashville author, songwriter and homeless advocate.
www.RichardAberdeen.com
