It’s great, folks, really great! The House Republicans have
passed, and sent to the Senate, the American Health Care Act. This bill will
reduce health-care related costs and taxes by $5640 annually for those
Americans who make $200,000 or more each year. Companies that employ 50 or more
full time workers will no longer be forced to offer health insurance to the
employees. This will definitely help make America great again.
Now, if you have winners this big, you naturally are going
to have some losers. But who are they? The losers are you and I, the American
people. Here are a few facts for your consideration.
If you make $10,000 annually, your health costs will rise by
$1400 yearly. Those fine Americans that make $50,000-$72,000 will only see
health costs increase by $60 annually, unless you get pregnant or have a
pre-existing condition.
We are going to get rid of some of those pesky
regulations that Obama put in the ACA. We are going to start by allowing
insurance companies to charge you more, or deny you coverage entirely if you
have any pre-existing conditions, such as being a victim of rape or domestic
violence, pregnancy, cancer, or heart conditions, to name a few.
Insurance companies are corporations, and corporations are
people, too. They don’t want to be forced to cover pregnancy, mental health
care, or cancer screenings as essential services. The American NoHealth Care
Act gives them the choice of covering them or not. I’m no expert, but I really
don’t expect the insurance companies to willingly cover them any more as
essential services.
If your insurance lapses for 63 days or more, say when you
are unemployed, insurance companies can charge you higher premiums for
pre-existing conditions than before.
Medicaid, including CHIP, is a health program that provides
basic services for low income Americans. This program will be capped under the
American NoHealth Care Act, which will force people close to the poverty line
out of the program. They will then have the option of paying more than they can
afford for health insurance, or just get sick and go to the emergency room. Now,
that is what is known as freedom of choice? NOT!
These are just a few of the facts relating to the American
NoHealth Care Act. Here’s a couple more, and they might hit home with you. This
bill was passed without any Democratic votes, and in fact 20 Republicans voted
against the bill. Are you represented in the House by a Republican? (Sadly, I
am, and I am not happy about her vote. I voted for her opponent in the
election.)
Did you vote for that Republican?
Think about it.
As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to post
comments or thoughts.
R.M. "Bob" Hartman