ObamaCare: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and the Ignored – Part 1

Most people acknowledge that reform of our health insurance system is needed but they do not agree on the nature and scope of reform.

The version of President Obama’s health care bill now before the House of Representative is H.R.3200 titled “America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009”. It is, of course, very controversial. The link in the previous sentence will take you to an on-line copy of the 1,017 page bill with hyperlinks to each section. You can also download the entire bill in PDF format. Be warned, it is very difficult reading. Representative John Conyers spoke the truth when he said he would need two days with two lawyers to interpret what the bill means.

Representative Conyers used that as an excuse for why he hasn’t read the bill. But, the fact that Congressmen are willing to vote for and pass a piece of legislation they not only have not read but are unable to understand is sufficient reason to show them the door. If the Congress that writes and votes for a bill cannot understand its own work – who can – who will? The logical implication is that the courts will decide what the bill means since no one else knows.

Still, many people have now read the bill and interpreted what is in it - and what is not - as best they can. Below, I have summarized the most important findings – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the ignored.


The Good
Availability and Renewability: Section 112 requires insurers to make insurance available and renewable except for non-payment of premiums and Section 111 prohibits exclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Covering those Who Cannot Afford Insurance: Section 242 provides coverage for people who are not eligible for Medicaid but earn less than 400% of the official poverty level.
Covering Pre-existing Conditions when Switching Insurance: Section 111 prohibits exclusion of coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The Bad
Higher Federal Deficits: The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will add $1.6 trillion to the Federal debt burden over the next ten years.
Higher Payroll Taxes: Sections 312 and 313 require all employers with payrolls exceeding $250,000 per year to contribute to the health insurance of their employees directly or indirectly through a sliding scale of additional payroll taxes. This means that employers that do not currently provide health insurance for their employees will be forced to do so one way or the other. Marginally profitable businesses will go out of business or layoff workers because of this increased expense.
Citizen Coercion – Section 401 imposes an income tax penalty of 2.5% of adjusted gross income upon anyone who is not covered by a qualified health insurance plan. This penalty will be enforced by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Ugly and The Ignored still to come.

Links to Other Topics in the Special Report: Universal Health Care