1.        Surgeon General, 9 members not employed by the federal government but appointed by the president, 9 members not employed by the federal government but appointed by the Comptroller General, 8 federal employees appointed by the president

a.        Would these appointments be politically motivated just as the “czars” have been?

2.        Only required to have one actual physician on the board OR AT LEAST one other health professional

a.        Thus technically not actually required to have a physician on the board

iii.      What are benefits?

1.        Benefit standards defines- covered treatments, items, services within benefit classes and cost sharing

a.        If the HBAC and HCA are defining benefits which have costs this would lead to rationing because all services have a cost attached

2.        Sec 152

a.        Will the public option be offered to non-citizens/illegal immigrants?

i.      Prohibiting Discrimination in Health Care- all health care and related services covered by this act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services

3.        Sec 163

a.        Health Plan Beneficiary Card

i.      Essentially a personal ID card containing information on what benefits you are eligible for upon arrival at the hospital

1.        What other personal information would be contained within this data card? Health records?

2.        Who has access?

ii.      Goals for financial and administrative transactions…shall provide for timely acknowledgment, response and status reporting applicable to any electronic transaction deemed appropriate by the secretary

4.        Sec 201

a.        How big will the option get?

i.      With the federal government try or will it inevitably occur that the private insurance companies will eventually be absorbed into the public plan or fall under government control?

ii.      How can private insurance companies compete and keep up financially on an uneven playing field?

1.        The public option will necessarily need to be subsidized by taxing American with higher incomes(what’s considered high? Is middle class higher income?)

2.        Most likely private insurers could not be profitable if attempting to offer the low cost that the government could. Perhaps they could at the expense of quality of service.

3.        How would this affect a stagnant economy?

5.        Sec 223

a.       Payment Rates for Items and Services- the secretary shall establish payment rates for the public health insurance option for services and health care providers and may change such payment rates

i.      Is this government price fixing?

1.        Is this something we really want the government entangled in?

2.        Health care makes up approximately 15% of the GDP

ii.      Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed as limiting the secretary’s authority to correct for payments that are excessive or deficient

iii.      There shall be no administrative or judicial review of a payment rate or methodology used to establish rates

1.        Whatever happened to checks and balances? The inmates are running the asylum.

6.        Sec 313

a.        Penalty on small businesses for not providing coverage to employees?

i.      What’s considered small as defined by net profit?

ii.      How would a penalty tax affect the bottom line of small companies and thus employment?

1.        Small businesses account for approximately ½ the GDP and ½ the employment in the United States

2.        Who’s the largest employer in the United States?

a.        Federal government, with approximately 30% employment

7.        Sec 1121

a.        Same pay regardless of specialty if you’re a physician?

i.      If so, what’s the incentive to further your knowledge and skill past the bare minimum

ii.      Competition has been eliminated

iii.      This would hurt healthcare overall for everyone

8.        Sec 1162

a.        Authority to Disqualify Certain Plans

9.        Sec 1177

a.        Extension of Authority of Special Needs Plans to Restrict Enrollment-Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide and analysis of state programs with regards to impact of such plans on cost, quality of care, patient satisfaction, etc…

b.        The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a report on the analysis and include recommendations with regards to the treatment of such plans as the Secretary deems necessary

i.      Is this giving authority to special needs programs and/or the Secretary of Health and Human Services to restrict enrollment and/or determine how cost effective special needs care is?

ii.      Is this giving authority to the secretary to place monetary value on human life, particularly the most defenseless in our society…those with special needs?

10.     No section specified

a.        Nancy Pelosi supports the H.R. 3200 Healthcare Reform Bill

Concerns about the above sections were provided by www.Americaiswatching.org. All other information in this paper are simply questions, observations and thoughts by concerned citizens provided in order to provoke thought, discussion and lively yet educated good old American debate.

Articles relating to Obamacare.  IF the link doesn't work, copy and paste into your browser.

Here's a good article by very liberal Camille Paglia about the town hall meetings.  http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2009/08/12/town_halls/

Here's a health care horror story Pres. Obama doesn't want you to hear...http://michellemalkin.com/2009/06/19/the-obamacare-horror-story-you-won%E2%80%99t-hear/

www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/07/21/perils_of_obamacare_the_three_big_lies_97550.html

This article is recreated without permission from the original.  I couldn't get anyone to respond to my request, so if you come across this, let them know I have it and would like to keep it on my webpage.

From FreedomWorks

Date: June 2, 2009 Issue: Health Care

The Obamacare Translator

Single Payer

“If you’re starting from scratch then a single-payer system would probably make sense.”

– Barack Obama, The New Yorker, May 7, 2007

Single Payer Health Care: Single payer describes a health care system under which one entity pays for all the costs of care. In the president’s context, a single payer system would have the taxpayers foot the bill for all medical expenses which would give politicians and bureaucrats greater control over health care. Government would take in taxes and likely form a fund that would then be billed by doctors and hospitals for citizens’ medical care.

FreedomWorks Analysis: There is no question as to whether or not reform in the health care sector is needed as costs continue to rise. Politicians disagree over what sort of reform is necessary or will be effective to bring cost back in line while maintaining quality. If the goal is to cut costs without regard to saving lives then a single payer system is the way to go. Politicians will decide what treatments and procedures are too costly and eliminate them—sometimes even if they are effective. If you find that you have cancer, a politician would get to make the decision of whether or not it would be cost-effective to treat you. If they find you are too expensive then too bad. Regardless of your ability or desire to pay for quality care, the politicians and bureaucrat under a single payer system could choose what health care you receive.

Rather than allowing consumers to choose their own treatments in consultation with their doctors, some politicians in Congress seek to place themselves in the examination room and make those decisions for you. Even if Congress makes a more moderate intervention into our private health care now we are still likely to see a single payer system in the future. Government involvement will increase costs and those costs will pressure law makers to switch to a single payer system to lower cost at the expense of quality. Whatever reforms for health care Congress enacts, it should be patient-centered and maintain the important relationship between individuals and their doctors while simultaneously driving down costs.

Here's another link about Obamacare:

http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/rossputin/obamacare-far-worse-than-economically-ignorant