Various eRumor about the proposed Health Care Bill |
Summary of the eRumor: |
The Truth: On December 24, 2009 the Senate passed the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" by a yea-nay vote of 60-39. The House version of the 2409 page bill is HR-3590. On the afternoon of March 18, 2010 Congress announced that the House posted an additional package, HR-4872 - Reconciliation Act of 2010, that contains 153 pages of fixes to the Healthcare bill. On March 21, 2010, Congress passed the two bills. In November 2010 the Republican Party won majority control of Congress on the campaign promise that they would repeal Obamacare. The new GOP led Congress met on January 19, 2011 to debate the repeal of the Health Care Reform Law. They voted 245 to 189 in favor to repeal the bill. The next step for the bill is to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, has vowed to block it. The text of HR-2 - Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act can be found at this link: Click for HR-2 The current Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act HR-3590 and the Reconciliation Act of 2010HR-4872 can be viewed on the Thomas Library site: Click for HR-3590 Click for HR-4872 HR-3590 eRumors: Real estate sales will be taxed 3.8%- Mostly Truth! At first, it was believed that taxes and surcharges could be imposed on income over $250,000 for single tax filers and $500,000 for married couples filing together. That imposed tax is to help fund the $210 Billion needed to fund the new Health Care Bill. According to the National Board of Realtors, the new law will take effect January 1, 2013 and "may impose a 3.8% tax on some (but not all) income from interest, dividends, rents (less expenses) and capital gains (less capital losses)." It said that this "tax will fall only on individuals with an adjusted gross income (AGI) above $200,000 and couples filing a joint return with more than $250,000 AGI." To help realtors and investors the National Association of Realtors released a brochure that explains the new tax called, The 3.8% Tax Real Estate Scenarios & Examples Effective January 1, 2013. Click here for a copy of the brochure. The actual tax increases may be generated by the HR-4872 Reconciliation Act according a March 21, 2010 article by Life and Health News Insurance News. This is also confirmed in a March 25, 2010 article by CNNMoney.com that said, "couples making $500,000 in wages will pay an additional $2,250. If they made $1 million, they would pay an additional $6,750. In addition, high-income households would also be subject to a new 3.8% Medicare tax on investment income starting in 2013." Employer healthcare insurance contributions on the 2011 W-2 form will be added to the employee's gross income- Fiction! The amount entered for employer contributions to the health insurance plans on the W-2 form are for evidence that the employee has health insurance coverage. This amount will not be taxable nor added to the employee's gross income. In an April 5, 2010 article called "Health Care Reform: 13 Tax Changes on the Way", Senior Tax Editor, Joan Pryde of the Washington D.C. based Kiplinger Letters wrote about a "requirement that businesses include the value of the health care benefits they provide to employees on W-2s, beginning with W-2s for 2011. The amount reported is not considered taxable income." "The Mark of the Beast" in the Healthcare Bill-Fiction! It refers to what is called in the health care legislation the "National Medical Device Registry." The registry does exist in the bill but has nothing to do with requiring implanted microchips in American citizens. It proposes a national database of medical devices that have already been put into people's bodies such as artificial knees, artificial hips, heart stents, pacemakers, etc. The purpose of the registry is to track the effectiveness and performance of the devices. Whoever originated this eRumor took the wording from the bill about the medical device registry and added their own interpretation that it involved microchips and would apply to every person. Individuals and families can opt out of the health care system if they belong to a religious organization that has a health care sharing ministry-Truth! Members of the Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Scientists), might not object to medical care purchasing health insurance. The church's official websites says that it teaches members that they "are always free to choose medical treatment, which many individuals feel is the most obvious solution to health difficulties." Members might be free to enroll in the health care plan or opt out of it. Amish do not believe an accepting assistance from the government but according to the frequently asked questions section on the Amish.net web site, members of the sect use local doctors, and if they have a medical condition that requires them to do so, they will seek the help of medical specialists or go to hospitals. The Amish subscribe to health plans or purchase medical insurance and if they are sick, will treat the ailments at home first. Such individuals and families will not be subject to the 2.5% tax. This is outlined on pages 326-328 discuss religious conscience exemptions: ‘‘(2) RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS.— A word about forwarded emails that reference pages from the Affordable Healthcare Act: One of the most common errors concerning the Affordable Healthcare Act that is circulating on the Internet is when the messages reference page numbers to the older versions of the bill. Text and page numbers from HR-3200 is often found in messages, video and graphics that have gone viral on the World Wide Web or social network cites such as Facebook. Computer users should exercise discernment before passing them on.
Below is the entire text with line numbers as it appeared in the HR-3590 document: 1 (D) COORDINATION WITH PREVENTIVE LIM- The text above comes under the heading of "ANNUAL LIMITATION ON DEDUCTIBLES FOR 13 EMPLOYER-SPONSORED PLANS" and there is no mention of exemption of any elected members in government or their families. HR-3200 eRumors: There are many questions being raised about President Obama's new proposed health care bill and we will try to answer them. The bill was introduced to Congress as the "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" or H.R. 3200 on July 14, 2009. The Bill was sponsored by Representative John D. Dingell of the15th district of Michigan. According to the Thomas Library of Congress the bill was "referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned." As of July 28, 2009, The Thomas Library reports, "Latest Major Action: 7/21/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held." The status of this bill and text can be found at the Thomas Library by searching the bill number H.R. 3200. Click for Thomas Library. Some of the emails circulated about the proposed legislation may, at times, be quoting previous versions of the bill. Mandatory end of life counseling every five years to instruct patients how to determine ways to end suffering- Truth! & Fiction! To be excluded by the Senate! On August 13, 2009 the Associated Press reported that, "Key senators are excluding a provision on end-of-life care from health overhaul legislation after language in a House bill caused a furor." Click for article Betsy McCaughey, a former New York Lt. Governor and conservative health activist, was interviewed on July 16, 2009 on the of former Senator and Presidential candidate Fred Thompson. In the interview she stated that page 425 of the health care bill said that everyone on Social Security & Medicare would have to undergo mandatory counseling every five years to determine ways to end their suffering. The counseling would be more frequent in the case of a terminal illness. McCaughhey’s comments dovetailed with several statements from critics of the health care legislation who claimed that the same portion of the bill could be used to promote euthanasia. House minority Leader John Boehner and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter said that such concerns were valid. They are quoted by LifeNews.com as saying, that the measure “could create a slippery slope for a more permissive environment for euthanasia, mercy-killing, and physican-assisted suicide because it does not clearly exclude counseling about the supposed benefits of killing oneself.” The Vice President of AARP, John Rother, disagrees. He said the bill does not, in his view, create a problem of euthanasia. He said that under the bill, Medicare would be required to cover the consultations for the first time but does not mandate that people get end-of-life consultation. He said that any consultation would be with the patient, the doctor or nurse practitioner---not a government bureaucrat. Pages 424 to 434 in the proposed healthcare bill discusses Advance Care Planning and the mandatory consultation is to discuss end of life services such as hospice care and living wills. Click for Fred Thompson interview. Another eRumor originated by the American Family Association warns of Rationing and Euthanasia - Disputed! and Fiction! Don Wildmon of the American Family Association (eRumor example #3) warned that Health Care Bill this could be the next next step towards euthanasia. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are not mentioned in the text of the bill and differ greatly from hospice care. Both private medical insurance policies and the proposed Universal Health Care plan have set limitations of coverage and deductibles could be be defined as the "rationing" of benefits. Another eRumor includes a long list of concerns from the organization Family Security Matters. (eRumor Example #2) Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self insure. - A Matter of Interpretation! The text of the bill reads, "The Commissioner, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor Secretary of Labor, shall conduct a study of the large group insured and self-insured employer health care markets." There is no mention of audits.
The text of the bill reads" IN GENERAL.—There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans." There is no mention of treatment procedures or policies.
Rationing could be defined as the controlled distribution of resources and goods or services. This section of the bill deal with cost sharing and co-payments and annual limitations, The text of the bill says, "The cost-sharing incurred under the essential benefits package with respect to an individual (or family) for a year does not exceed the applicable level specified in subparagraph." It is then defined as $5,000 per individual and $10,000 per family each year. The setting of co-payments and coverage limitations is a standard procedure for all medical health plans.
According to the text of the bill, the commissioner's duties include the establishment and enforcement of "qualified health benefits plan standards". The list of his duties also includes the "establishment and operation of a Health Insurance Exchange" and accountability.
There is no provision to check for citizenship prior to receiving health services even though there are the provisions:. Section 152 is a discrimination clause that basically said that all health 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." Citizenship is not mentioned. Section 246 on page 143 under the heading of "NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS" said, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States."
Under the heading of "STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS", this section is for a "real-time (or near realtime) determination of an individual’s financial responsibility at the point of service and, to the extent possible, prior to service, including whether the individual is eligible for a specific service with a specific physician at a specific facility, which may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card" Co-payments which need to be collected are part of the plan and it also appears that the new health plan is designed to work with insurance supplement programs. There is no mention in the bill that personal finance records would be collected.
This falls under the heading of "STANDARDS FOR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS" the bill says,"enable electronic funds transfers, in order to allow automated reconciliation with the related health care payment and remittance advice." The text of the bill is not clear if the electronic funds transfers means between the patient and the health care provider.
Section 164 deals with "REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR RETIREES" and says, "Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a temporary reinsurance program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘reinsurance program’’) to provide reimbursement to assist participating employment-based plans with the cost of providing health benefits to retirees and to eligible spouses, surviving spouses and dependents of such retirees." Unions and community organizations (such as ACORN) do not appear to be singled out in the text of the bill. Also, non union private business that offer retirement plans and benefits for employees exist in the country.
The text of the bill read, "CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES AND COMMUNICATIONS.—The entity shall provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and health services." Translations Services will be provided for those who do not speak English. Section 246 on page 143 under the heading of "NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS" said, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." This means no benefits provided to illegal aliens.
Under the heading of PART VIII—HEALTH CAR |
Friday, September 28, 2012
Truth or Fiction On Provisions of ObamaCare
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