Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Bring on health care law

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Recently, the Idaho Mountain Express ran an editorial gushing the benefits of "Obamacare."

The problem is there is so much deception and untruths in the law that the benefits get lost. This law was determined to be constitutional because it was a tax and Congress has the constitutional authority to tax. The Solicitor General argued that before the Supreme Court. Yet the president consistently claims it is not. They are claiming both sides of the issue.

Then there is the smoke and mirrors over paying for it. The automatic cuts to physician payments that were factored in, but which Congress consistently delays, the $500 billion in Medicare cuts over the next 10 years, really? Those cuts will never happen. Then there are the states that were exempted from paying their share of the Medicaid cost each state pays for Medicaid for the new people Obamacare allows, previously ineligible, onto Medicaid. Nebraska was bought off as was D.C. and several East Coast states to get their votes. That means the rest of us will be paying their share as well as our own.

Then there is the mandate on employers, but nothing to help Medicaid providers to pay for heath insurance for their employees. Over the last three years, Medicaid Home Care providers saw an average of a 15 percent cut in revenue, assisted-living providers were cut 3 percent over existing inadequate rates, and dozens of assisted-living facilities have gone under.

If we can't raise prices (Medicaid rates), how are these providers supposed to pay over $400.00 a month per employee for insurance. All this law does is drive more providers out of business.

The Express editorial claims that small business welcomes this law. Hmm, according to who? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposed the law in their briefs before the Supreme Court. Finally, one should be asking about the deals made with the two wealthiest lobbies, the pharmaceutical companies and the hospitals, the day after the decision hospital stocks went up across the board. Nope. Industries doing the best in this economy were assured of no negative impact on them. Many of the goals of the law are a long time coming and laudable, but the cost of getting there is an unfair tax, and the politics smell.

Scott Burpee

CEO

Safe Haven Health Care (Idaho)

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