by Michael Connelly
Posted February 23, 2010.
After much anticipation, at least by the so-called mainstream media, the White House has released the new and improved version of Obamacare. Since I have already had to read two previous versions of these monstrosities in the House and two more in the Senate, I call this version Obamacare 5.0 and it is actually an easy read. It is not hundreds or thousands of pages long and it doesn’t take long for people to realize that it really changes very little.
It must be remembered that this is not a Congressional Bill, but simply the President’s proposal to make the bill more palatable to the American public and even some members of Congress who have grown increasingly more concerned about the implications that these proposals have for freedom in this country. In that regard the proposal fails miserably. Despite the use of smoke and mirrors to hide what is really going on with the proposal and the spin that is put on it by the Whitehouse to make it sound like Obama is the smartest man in the world and has found a solution to the problems that couldn’t be resolved by the 535 members of the House and Senate the White House proposal is basically Senate Bill 3590 with a new hairstyle and thicker makeup. This is all an attempt to hide the fact that the bill is still blatantly unconstitutional.
The proposal leaves intact the mandatory provisions of the Senate bill that require every resident of the United States to buy health insurance and to further only buy that insurance approved by the Federal government. Sections 1301-1302 of the Bill set forth the requirements that each approved plan shall have, leaving consumers with no choices about what is best for their needs. Sec 1501 requires that everyone have insurance and provides stiff penalties for failure to comply. In fact, under the President’s proposal the penalties get higher and progress eventually to 2.5% of a person’s income. All of this exceeds the authority granted to Congress in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and violates the 9th and 10th amendments that protect the rights of people and the states.
The Obama proposal also leaves intact the provisions under Section 3403 that establish an “Independent Medicare Advisory Board” that will oversee the severe cuts in Medicare and the services provided to seniors. In other words, the Executive Branch of government will ration healthcare for the elderly while at the same time controlling how much everyone else pays for health insurance and what treatments they can be provided with.
Obamacare 5.0 doesn’t eliminate any of the massive tax increases already in the Senate Bill. It plays games by delaying some of them for a short time or changing the name of the fee or tax. For example, the proposal calls for changing the fee to be charged on all medical devices to an excise tax that will raise the same amount for money. The stated purpose for that is to make it easier for the IRS to handle. (Doesn’t that make you feel better about this legislation?).
By the way, one of the new taxes established in the Senate Bill and left in under the Obama proposal is the “Indoor Tanning Service” tax. This is provided for in Sec. 10907 that amends the Internal Revenue Code to set up a 10% tax on the use by consumers of indoor tanning services. I can only conclude that this came about because of the frustration in Congress over the fact that they have not yet been able to find a way to tax the American people for enjoying the sunshine. Therefore they have gone to the next best thing, taxing tanning booths. I would love to hear someone try to explain what that has to do with health care reform.
The Obama proposal delays the implementation of taxes on the so-called “Cadillac” health care plans in order to appease the labor unions but still will ultimately result in massive taxes on people who have good health care plans and place additional taxes on businesses that don’t provide government approved health care plans to their employees, even if both the business owners and employees are satisfied with what they have in place.
The plan also calls for increases in fees on brand named pharmaceuticals. It sets this increase to be administered by the IRS. Who will ultimately pay for these increases? The American taxpayers of course, and frankly I am losing count of all of the new taxes being imposed on our citizens under the health care proposals.
In addition, while the Senate and House versions of the bill add layer upon layer of new Federal bureaucracies to control our access to health care, this is apparently not enough for President Obama. He would add still another new bureaucratic agency called the Health Insurance Rate Authority to “provide Federal assistance and oversight to States in conducting reviews of unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans.” The definition of oversight is obvious; it means Federal control of State regulations of insurance companies and is a clear violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
So, what is the bottom line of Obamacare 5.0? It places control of our personal health care decisions in the hands of unnamed Federal Bureaucrats who care nothing about us or our individual needs. It provides instant access for these same bureaucrats to see or medical and financial information, it massively increases our taxes and ultimately our insurance premiums, and it reduces our access to the health care that we need. It takes away our choices and our personal freedoms and it increases the Federal deficit that will eventually land on the backs of our children and grandchildren.
I believe that the Obama proposal is in fact a ruse. It is designed to lure us into believing that the health care bill is actually about affordable health care when it is really about taking control of our lives and limiting our freedoms. It is a cover for the fact that the Senate will try to pass this bill as a “budget reconciliation act” that will only require a simple majority in the Senate instead of the usual 60 votes. We must act now to let our representatives in the House and Senate know that we are not buying into these deceptions and that they will pay a price in November at the polls if this is forced on us.
If it passes, this legislation will be challenged in the courts. I am currently working with the U.S. Justice Foundation that is preparing to file a lawsuit to challenge the Constitutionality of the legislation if it is adopted. We will not go down without putting up one heck of a fight for our freedom as Americans.
Michael Connelly is a U.S. Army veteran, a retired attorney, and a published author, freelance writer, and teacher. Author of three books, "Riders in the Sky: The Ghosts and Legends of Philmont Scout Ranch", "The Mortarmen", a story about my father's unit in WW II; and the just released novel, "Amayehli: A Story of America" You can read more about these books by going to the pages on each book on this website. He also teaches law courses via the internet through colleges and universities worldwide. The courses he teaches and the links to the courses' webpage where you can find out more about them is: Constitutional Law: http://www.ed2go.com/courses/cl1