Jackson Jambalaya

Health Savings Account plans are basically the cafeteria plans that some larger pools can access now. You essentially pre-paid all your deductibles and any uncovered medical expenses you anticipate for the coming year. If you don't use that amount in that year, you lose it. There are ceilings and conditions for how much you can pre-pay but you get to deduct the cafeteria amount paid it from your income. So, essentially it's a current tax avoidance for the privileged and the employees who work for them only.

I like that illegals are specifically excluded. For one thing, it will discourage hiring of illegals.

I like that insurance companies can't dump the risk. They will, instead,not have to accept the risk and those people have to go into a high risk pool and the insurers can no longer " dump" someone just because they get sick who they found to be a good risk for YEARS.

Yes, it gives the Sec. power, but someone's got to run it. At least this someone has accountability in the end to US, the voter/taxpayer and not to a profit bottom line and his bonus hopes.

CBO ( Congressional Budget Office) a group that Greenspan praises for reliability thinks this bill is a cost savings. Greenspan's only concerns about this bill's cost savings is related to margins of error that occur in any projections.

It's not really true that government passes laws where costs are " surprises". CBO has a great track record, it just that Congress ignores their projections in favor of some conjured up elsewhere by special interests not taxpayer interests .

So the question becomes, do you think American citizens who are born with health problems or develop health problems before reaching adulthood should receive medical care? If you do, then who pays for it and how?

We pay now with Medicaid and Medicare and with higher costs in care for ourselves. This is a different approach that requires those with health problems to pay what they can instead of nothing through a high risk insurance plan.

In considering costs in this bill, you must make a comparison to EXISTING costs through EXISTING programs and health care industry policies.

I don't think you want to oppose one of the sections that does bring down costs by reducing costs in Medicaid and Medicare (the latter by retaining supplementals).

Greenspan has zero credibility at this point. ZERO.

Rep. Dean Heller R Nevada, proposed an amendment to the bill that would require insurers and health care providers to verify citizenship. Of course it didn't pass.
So there is no citizenship verification plus illegals are exempt from the personal mandate.
Harry, barry and Nancy obviously have little regard for actual citizens. They show contempt for their opponents and are no doubt laughing at their supporters.

Greenspan has had zero credibility to me for a long time as I always thought Ayn Rand had a flawed theory economically and socially as it made false assumptions about human behavior. Particularly when it came to ignoring GREED as a human motivator. The idea that "creativity" would win out over greed,self-interest and practicality except in rare individuals was a notion I always thought ridiculously naive.

But, when it comes to the math, Greenspan can do math.

Besides, you can't argue the projections by CBO are wrong based on not liking a personality or loss of confidence in one person.

WHO is saying the CBO is wrong and what is THEIR expertise in mathematical forecasting? And, what formulas and numbers are they using to reach that conclusion?

Could we TRY to set aside emotion and pre-conceived notions and look at this bill objectively?

IF we could do that, THEN the public might know what to specifically be FOR or AGAINST and have a shot at effective, sensible reform.

Or we could throw out the baby with the bathwater and have the worst of both worlds.

Citizenship verification is something you could get behind and support.
I think it may take care of itself however if those providing services ( the insurers) find it to be not in their financial interest to give those services to illegals.
There's nothing in the bill to prevent insurers from taking on the verification responsibility and in turn requiring proof of citizenship from the insured.

Kingfish: Read anything about the so called Private Army to "enforce healthcare" in the bill? Would love your thoughts. Supposed to be in Section 5210, Page 1312