Analysis of Talking Points Against HR3200 (Healthcare/Insurance Reform)

Old Lurker, a regular on Just One Minute, posted an email he had received listing a bunch of talking points against HR 3200, the House Healthcare/Insurance Reform Bill. The Bill is 1018 pages long, and creates a bureaucracy of commissions, commissioners, task forces, study groups, funding for all of that and, incidentally, some general requirements for public and private health care which will be supplemented by the usual Regulations to be developed by the bureaucracy this monstrosity creates. I have undertaken to compare the talking points in the email with the parts of the Bill it cites for its points.

Here is the first installment:

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure

Not exactly. This section sets up a committee to study and compare large market self-insured and employee benefit plans, including financial solvency of the employers providing self-insured plans.

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you receive

This is essentially true. The committee will be patterned on the current committee that does the same thing for Medicare

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED. You can only receive a certain amount of "care" per year

This is inaccurate. The annual limitations specified in this Section ($5,000 per individual and $10,000 per family) relate to co-pays or cost sharing by the insured, not to services covered by the plan.

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you. You have no choice.

The statutory language is ambiguous on this point. The HCC has this duty under Section

142 (a)(1):
QUALIFIED PLAN STANDARDS.—The establishment of qualified health benefits plan standards 8 under this title, including the enforcement of such standards in coordination with State insurance regulators and the Secretaries of Labor and the Treasury.

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US residents, illegal or otherwise

Not explicitly, but certainly possibly. Here’s the actual language:

SEC. 152. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise explicitly permitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations consistent with this Act, all health care and related services (including insurance coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high quality health care or related services.

Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Health Card will be issued.

Partly true. Government will have access to National ID Health Card, but Section 163 deals with an electronic system to allow determination of coverage and co-pay in “near real time”. It does not even implicitly give the government the right to record or see an “individual’s finances”.

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access to your banks accts for funds transfer

Not accurate. The system will allow electronic funds transfers to providers and will allow automated reconciliation with “related health care payment and remittance advice”.

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (example -ACORN).

Not accurate. This Section sets up a reinsurance program for defined group health plans; eligibility for that program is not limited to union plans.
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control.

Accurate that HC Exchange is created by Title II (which begins on P. 72., and ends on P. 143). Title II covers all HC public and private health care plans including Medicare and Medicaid. Title II gives very broad powers to HC Exchange. Unless this federal statute is different from all predecessors (not likely), HC Exchange will exercise significant control over all health care plans.

PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs for private HC plans in the Exchange

Accurate

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare.

Accurate that Section 203 specifies benefit levels for plans. It does not expressly specify the power to ration, but that will be a likely result of this system.

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic appropriate services...... Example - Translation for illegal aliens

Accurate that bill requires “linguistically appropriate services”. What this means is not specified, but there is no limitation on who is entitled to this treatment, so illegals presumably would benefit.

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individually for Govt HC plan

Unclear, but possible and maybe probable under this administration. Section 205 allows the Commissioner to use “…other appropriate organizations” to conduct outreach and informational functions. What is “appropriate” is undefined in the bill.