What Weve Learned About Obamas Health Care Plan
Washington DC With the White House PR machine out in full force the past two weeks selling the Obama government takeover of health care the picture of what exactly the President is proposing has begun to come into focus.
Yet perhaps to his detriment Americans are learning that the details of his plan are not quite what the President promised nor the type of change folks had in mind.
To recap the week we offer a summary of what weve learned from Obamas campaign for a government takeover of medicine.
1) The President thinks a government-run health care plan is good enough for your family but his loved ones should get something better.
Neurologist Dr. Orrin Devinsky asked the president pointedly if he would be willing to promise that he wouldnt seek such extraordinary help for his wife or daughters if they became sick and the public plan hes proposing limited the tests or treatment they can get.
The president refused to make such a pledge though he allowed that if its my family member if its my wife if its my children if its my grandmother I always want them to get the very best care." (ABC News 6/24/09)
2) The President wont make you give up your personal health care coverage but he acknowledges his plan would create a scenario where you could lose it as a result.
But today the president clarified that promise. It seems he wasnt saying no one" will take away any Americans health insurance he was saying the government wouldnt.
Which is not to say that the government wouldnt create a situation where such a thing would happen. (ABC News 6/23/09)
3) The President after savaging his opponent over the idea on the campaign trail has begun to admit hes okay taxing your health care benefits.
With lawmakers trying to crunch the numbers on a $1 trillion health care overhaul President Barack Obama is leaving the door open to a new tax on employer-provided health care benefits. (AP 6/25/09)
4) Labor unions a major funder of the Presidents presidential campaign may be exempt from the health care tax. How convenient.
A tax on benefits that exceed the cap by a mere $3000 could amount to $750 in taxes annually for a worker who earns as little as $34000 say experts.
But those union members serving under collective bargaining agreements would not be subjected to the tax according to proposals under discussion. (Washington Examiner 6/23/09)
5) While moving forward at warp speed with a government takeover of health care the President hasnt yet figured how to keep medical decisions between patients and doctors.
He also didnt answer directly who would set limits to care in a new system or who would enforce them.
If we are smart we should be able to design a system in which people still have choices and waste is reduced he said. (NY Daily News 6/25/09)
6) Americans informed about the effects of the Presidents government-run plan reject the idea.
But when framed with an explicit counterargument the idea receives a more tepid response. In the new Post-ABC poll 62 percent support the general concept but when respondents were told that meant some insurers would go out of business support dropped sharply to 37 percent.
