Lowering the cost of Healthcare will cost $289 Billion

As we have been saying all along........there is nothing in the House proposed healthcare bill that lowers cost. There are lower payments to doctors and hospitals through Medicare and Medicaid reductions. There are higher taxes, fines, penalties and unfunded mandates. There are provisions for jail time for those that will not buy. There are loan forgiveness programs for Veterinarians. There are all kinds of things crammed in this pretend reform, but not one single thing lowers cost. I've said it before, but I just have to say it again-PAYING OUT LESS DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE LOWERED COSTS.

However, the CMS analysis clearly states that the House bill falls short in attaining a key goal of the Democrats' effort to reform the nation's healthcare system: "With the exception of the proposed reduction in Medicare... the provisions of H.R. 3962 would not have a significant impact on future healthcare cost growth rates."

We can read and reason Mr. President, can you?

Nutritional labeling? Doesn't work.

While reading through various portions of the healthcare bill passed by Congress last night I came across the section on new labeling requirements. Starting on page 1151 there are various requirements for restaurants and vending machines as to how and what must carry nutritional information. Presumably they feel this will reduce peoples inclination to eat too many calories or food stuffs that carry little to no nutritional value, therefore reducing obesity and diseases related to obesity.

Unfortunately, the people who would benefit most from this information are the least likely to use it. A prime example of an out-of-touch government applying out-dated and costly fixes to a problem, only to realize after that they do nothing to address the actual issue.

Dennis Kucinich has it almost completely wrong

While Dennis Kucinich tries to contain any backlash on his no vote last night on the travesty known as H.R. 3962, The Affordable Health Care for America Act, he sites outright lies and uses misdirection to promote the false utopia of single-payer. On his web site he writes to explain his choice; vowing to continue the fight for a single-payer system.

We continue to see the left promoting the idea insurance companies are the bad guys. Describing insurance companies as "predatory" and making money by "not providing health care"; no matter that it has been shown this is a complete lie. Insurance companies make no where near the profits Americans are being lead to believe they make-just over 2.2% in this last year; barely around 6% most years.

We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem. When health insurance companies deny care or raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles they are simply trying to make a profit. That is our system."

"Clearly, the insurance companies are the problem, not the solution. They are driving up the cost of health care. Because their massive bureaucracy avoids paying bills so effectively, they force hospitals and doctors to hire their own bureaucracy to fight the insurance companies to avoid getting stuck with an unfair share of the bills. The result is that since 1970, the number of physicians has increased by less than 200% while the number of administrators has increased by 3000%. It is no wonder that 31 cents of every health care dollar goes to administrative costs, not toward providing care. Even those with insurance are at risk. The single biggest cause of bankruptcies in the U.S. is health insurance policies that do not cover you when you get sick."

While there is no question we can fault legislation and the rising costs of administration for much of the current state of healthcare, the way in which Mr. Kucinich portrays those problems is completely false. Administrative costs have contributed greatly to the rising costs of healthcare because of unnecessary government legislation, government regulation and government bureaucracy-not a lack of it. This seething cesspool of government interference does little to actually protect consumers or keep healthcare costs from rising. I once heard President Obama falsely claim that insurance companies were the worst for rejecting claims based on crossing "t"s and dotting "i"s. This is patently false. As someone who clientele consists of more than 97% small doctors offices, I can unequivocally and without a doubt tell you more claims are rejected through Medicare and Medicaid for petty items and missed punctuation than any private insurance company. In addition, these two government run agencies have some of the most difficult, antiquated and stringent systems to deal with. If Administration has gone up 3000% it is due to government, not a lack of it.

Also directly attributable to skyrocketing costs? A lack of tort reform; this serves to drive costs up even more. With the rising fees for defending against unfounded attacks and awards that far out-weigh the true damage most people incur, insurance companies and doctors both have had to put in safe guards and double and triple processes to protect themselves. Combine that with the outrageous costs of malpractice insurance-which all doctors pay, regardless of whether or not they have ever been sued-and it's a perfect recipe for costs that will never see a ceiling or an end. To make the insurance companies the bad guys in that equation serves only as misdirection.

Mr. Kucinich goes on to somehow link the collapse of American manufacturing industry to a failing heathcare system.

"This health care bill continues the redistribution of wealth to Wall Street at the expense of America's manufacturing and service economies which suffer from costs other countries do not have to bear, especially the cost of health care. America continues to stand out among all industrialized nations for its privatized health care system. As a result, we are less competitive in steel, automotive, aerospace and shipping while other countries subsidize their exports in these areas through socializing the cost of health care."

Blaming our lack of competitiveness on the countries unwillingness to subsidize the costs of healthcare? This is quite a stretch to make. It seems Kucinich has completely forgotten about NAFTA, our 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world, mounting trade-deficits and foreign interests taking a front seat in manufacturing in the American economy. I would say the costs of healthcare is way down on their list of worries when it comes to being less competitive. While I will agree that this bill does nothing to reign in the costs of healthcare and is no friend to business and manufacturing, to imply unsubsidized healthcare is the reason for our lack of competitiveness in the marketplace is disingenuous.

Dennis also enlightens us to the separation between the finance economy and the real economy-in which Wall Street, corporations, and banks are showing signs of recovery but people are not.

"Recent rises in unemployment indicate a widening separation between the finance economy and the real economy. The finance economy considers the health of Wall Street, rising corporate profits, and banks' hoarding of cash, much of it from taxpayers, as sign of an economic recovery. However in the real economy-in which most Americans live - the recession is not over. Rising unemployment, business failures, bankruptcies and foreclosures are still hammering Main Street."

Again, I don't disagree with his premise, but his insinuation that a single payer system would somehow relieve the "real economies" problems is far off base. For one thing, there is living proof in Britain and Canada. Those countries have government run healthcare; their people are, economically, no better off than Americans. So, not only are they suffering under systems that won't employ people or put food on the table, but the huge entitlement of government run healthcare has lead to rationing and a system that treats people based on dollar amounts and panels of statistical outcomes rather than on a personal relationship or the individual. Healthcare costs in those countries are no less-just the amount they spend on people is less....leading to higher death rates from things like kidney disease and breast cancer. So, it costs the same, they just stop paying sooner. This, Mr. Kucinich is not a better system.

Indeed, "unemployment, business failures, bankruptcies and foreclosures are still hammering Main Street." How then does adding $3 trillion to the deficit over the long term, increasing entitlement programs and the size of government alleviate those issues? It doesn't. Neither does turning our system in to one of single-payer. This would only serve to increase government and government is never a creator of wealth. Government is a taker of wealth, leaving it's people enslaved and poorer for it.

Dems voting to massacre the economy TODAY

Democrats on the Hill believe they have the votes needed to completely destroy what is left of the wavering U.S. economy. They will push on with a rare Saturday or even rarer Sunday vote to decimate the Healthcare system and the American people.

With Democrats' command of the necessary votes looking tenuous in the final hours, Obama threw the weight of his administration behind the effort to round up support. He and top administration officials worked the phones to pressure wavering lawmakers.

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said he heard Friday from Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Their message: "This is a historic moment. You don't want to end up with nothing," said Altmire, who remained undecided.

Democratic leaders hoped to hold the vote Saturday evening, but Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said it could slip.

Democrats hold 258 seats in the House and can afford 40 defections and still wind up with 218, a majority if all lawmakers vote. But all 177 Republicans were expected to vote "no," and Democratic leaders faced a series of complications trying to seal the needed votes for their complex and controversial legislation that would affect one-sixth of the economy and touch the lives of countless Americans.

It is imperative that lawmakers see the error of their ways. Every one of those people wuld vote no on this monstrosity if they cared anything about the American people. No reform of the healthcare system needs to be 2,800 pages long. All of these fines, requirements, laws, regulations and taxes do untold damamge to the American way of life, while doing so little to improve things. Reform can be had. Small changes could be made, first giving relief to those who need it most and widening reform from there; finding actual changes that contain costs for eveyone along the way.

This is nothing but an over-reaching power grab. This will be the begining of the destruction of the American way if it is allowed to be made into law.

Congressman Connolly (D-VA) has a bully in his office shoving women

Yesterday, Teri Christoph, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Smart Girl Politics-and a good friend of mine-answered the call by Rep. Michele Bachmann to the people to converge on Washington, D.C. and talk to representatives about the Pelosi Healthcare bill.

After several rousing speeches by the likes of Jon Voight, (Corrected. Thanks reader.) Mark Levin and Missouri's very own Todd Akin (R-MO) the crowd was dispersed. All were encourage to go visit their Representatives so they could speak directly to them about their feelings on the disastrous legislation. (Teri recounts the whole story here, be sure to read it.)

As all the constituents did, Teri went through security, camera in hand and in full view, then proceeded to Congressman Gerry Connolly's office. Once in the office she filled out the visitors form, pulled out her camera and began asking for Rep. Connolly or a staffer to discuss the representatives position on the healthcare bill. It is at this point things got a little ugly-while the staffer seems to indicate that in order to use a camera in the office she must have media credentials-which is weird, I would like to see where that is written-but then Communications Director George Burke came out and decided he would take control. He became aggressive toward Teri, insisting she would need press credentials, shoving her aside and threatening to call police.

So, it seems Rep. Gerry Connolly has a thug in his office to do his communicating for him. George Burke is a known instigator and has been out on the Internet threatening and trying to quash those with opposing points of view for years. Since sometime in 2006 there are numerous examples of Mr. Burke posting comments on Internet sites and blogs under his name and two pseudonyms one "Thomas Paine" or "Thomas Paine Patriot" and then later under the name "11thCD". Lowell has done all the work and lined it out very neatly for all the world to see-except I guess Rep. Connolly. Otherwise, why would some one who has regularly compared people to NAZI's, and Stalinist's be allowed to serve as Communications Director for a Representative of the people. Clearly this man will not tolerate opposing points of view and feels neither he, nor Connolly, owes anyone any explanation for anything. Nice communicating dude.

It would seem Representative Connolly has a habit of hiding though. This past summer he refused to hold an "open" townhall to speak to his people about their concerns on healthcare. Rather, he spoke to a captive, hand-picked audience so he wouldn't have to drag out his nasty attack dog or answer any tough questions.

Folks in the House like this better get a clue....your seat is not guaranteed and if this is how you will treat the people you represent, you will be voted out.

Circular Logic Never, Ever, Works Out Right

In a not at all uncommon move in government, it seems a very large part of the plan to pay for all the swell new healthcare coverage comes from money that does not exist, may or may not ever exist and has, at the very least, a great chance of not piling up in the amounts they are counting on. The plan is to make healthcare premiums so unaffordable that folks would rather pay the fine than actually get healthcare coverage. Then, this non-existant money will be used to pay the government subsidies for people who cannot afford healthcare coverage on their own.

The health care reform bill awaiting debate in the House assumes millions of workers and employers would rather pay $167 billion in fines than purchase or provide adequate coverage, according to a recent analysis, raising questions about whether the plan does enough to make insurance affordable.

Though the bill is estimated to expand coverage from the current 83 percent to 96 percent of legal U.S. residents, the windfall of projected penalty payments also exposes a potential contradiction in reform. A significant part of the plan to expand coverage relies financially on fines from the uninsured.

Does this seem like an unsolvable math problem? Or a trick? No matter how many times it has been tried and failed, the government never seems to realize circular logic never works. How do you on the one hand demand people get healthcare coverage, then on the other assume they won't and plan that this is how you will pay for the subsidies on the care you demand people get. The fact is government will not get the amount from fines and penalties they are counting on; they will turn once again to wrenching the life and liberty out of the American people to pay for it.

The people in charge right now just don't seem to understand that they can only go to the well of the sweat and blood of the middle class so many times before it will be dry. The era of serfs and lords has long past. There is no way Americans will lay down in the streets, turned into slaves-propping up those who won't on the backs of those who will.