The Obama Biden Communist Health Care Plan

Here's the Obama Biden Health Care Plan (I doubt many people even read any of it):

* Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums.

Forcing insurance companies to provide additional coverage. Companies will either raise overall prices or go into debt or go out of business. The government required mortgage lenders to also provide home loans to distressed lenders. And we see the ramifications of that now. Also, aren't insurance companies already stressed financially?

* Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.

Tax credits (ala child tax credit and earned income tax credits) can result in money being paid to such companies from the tax payers. Thus, we're being forced to provide this money to such businesses whether we want to or not. Supports someone else's cause...but I doubt it's what most people would want to do. But if they want to...great, hold a "make a donation to your favorite insurance company" telethon.

* Lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the catastrophic health costs they pay in return for lower premiums for employees.

So, the tax payers are being forced to pay for health costs...whether they like it or not. Again, being forced to pay for someone else's cause.

* Prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and invest in proven strategies to reduce preventable medical errors.

Dictating pricing and charging policies of insurance companies...a further stress on their already stressed situation.

* Make employer contributions more fair by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employees health care.

Forcing companies, in a down economy, to pay out more expenses will result in either layoffs, offshoring, more debt, or going out of business. GM is a large company. So is Ford. Do we want to force such companies to pay out more expenses and further stress their operations? It's no wonder large companies offshore work to China...they don't have to pay for their additional health care costs.

* Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage.

Oh boy. It's "lets create another unaccountable government sponsored enterprise" time. That worked out well for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Can't wait to see this exchange burn our tax dollars. Maybe we should call this new agency Burny Mac.

* Ensure everyone who needs it will receive a tax credit for their premiums.

Same issue with tax credits...when it results in a drop below 0 in taxable income, it results in income actually to the tax reporter. So it is a welfare handout. So the actual tax payers are being forced to pay for someone else's cause and needs. We're not asked like a charity. We're forced. Biden doesn't mind because he doesn't contribute to charities. He'd rather force others to pay for his causes.

* Lower drug costs by allowing the importation of safe medicines from other developed countries, increasing the use of generic drugs in public programs and taking on drug companies that block cheaper generic medicines from the market

One sound/kind principle amongst a Communist Health Plan.

* Require hospitals to collect and report health care cost and quality data

More expenses on hospitals. Will stress them out. Hospital workers might start job hunting now.

* Reduce the costs of catastrophic illnesses for employers and their employees.
* Reform the insurance market to increase competition by taking on anticompetitive activity that drives up prices without improving quality of care.

Too tired to respond to the last two.

Current Case Study: Why Communism and Regulation Don't Work

The other day, after the market tanked, the newspapers were reporting that US congress passed the $700B bailout bill due in large part to the fact that the market tanked after they didn't pass it the first time: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7652112.stm.

Now today, after the bill passed on Friday, the financial markets are in turmoil despite the bill, and as some theorize, because of the bill being passed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7654025.stm

So a $700B taxpayer funded bailout involving communistic state ownership of private assets, and added regulation measures were put in place in a hurried fashion in part due to a market panic. Yet the market panicked anwyay. And yet we are now stuck with the tax burden, increased levels of communism in America, and more regulation.

If any case is a good example for why using legislation and regulation to try and manage a complex market system doesn't work...this is it.

Can we get our money and freedom back now?