America’s Affordable Health Choices Act
Congress is currently considering HR 3200, otherwise known as “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” It’s the massive health care bill that we’ve seen coming for quite some time. OpenCongress.org provides a PDF that explains HR 3200 in detail as well as the following summary:
America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009
To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.
OpenCongress Summary:
This is the House Democrats’ big health care reform bill. Broadly, it seeks to expand health care coverage to the approximately 40 million Americans who are currently uninsured by lowering the cost of health care and making the system more efficient. To that end it includes a new government-run insurance plan to compete with the private companies, a requirement that all Americans have health insurance, a prohibition on denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions and, to pay for it all, a surtax on households with an income above $350,000.
A word from HR 3200′s sponsors
The emergency cash loans needed to fund HR 3200 will come from a mixture of sources. The PDF on OpenCongress is a document created by the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor. The committees, who wrote HR 3200, say:
America’s Affordable Health Choices Act provides quality affordable care for all Americans and controls health care cost growth. … The bill builds on what works in today’s health care system and fixes the parts that are broken. It provides current coverage — allowing individuals to keep the insurance they have if they like it — and preserves choice of doctors, hospitals, and health plans.
Included in HR 3200 are provisions that will offer a public health insurance option, meaning people can get health insurance through the government instead of a private insurer. As you can imagine, some people and organizations are not crazy about this idea.
Private insurance industry says “nay”
Naturally, providers and advocates of private health care are opposed to HR 3200. Kim Priestap at wizbang says:
“HR 3200 kills the private insurance industry. … How do the private insurance companies compete with the government run health care plan? They don’t. This bill is designed to kill the private insurance industry and force people onto the government plan. …
Senator Jim DeMint remarked that Obama’s health care reform plan will be his Waterloo if the GOP can successfully stop it, and based upon what’s in HR 3200, you better hope the GOP and Blue Dogs are successful.”
Priestap dissects a few paragraphs of the bill in her commentary on wizbang. Check it out here.
Show me the money
Regarding how HR 3200 makes health care affordable to all Americans, the House Committees say America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009:
- Provides sliding scale affordability credits
- Caps annual out-of-pocket spending
- Increased competition from public plan spurs efficiency and transparency
- Expands Medicaid
- Improves Medicare
The plan stresses that there must be a balance between individual, employer and government responsibility. HR 3200 also has provisions to help small employers.
To Steve Abraham: Who said you get a vote in it? Last I checked, it is up the Congress and the House of (non)Representatives to decide.
I've just finished looking over highlighted parts (no way am I going to read all 1990 pages of it) of the bill and I don't like what I see – increased taxes, requirement of public health care by 2013, increased takes for those who refuse health care (if you earn under $250,00), and a committee that "recommends" treatment (no, they didn’t define what "recommends" means so as far as we know it could mean "demand". Plus, if this gets put into place, what is going to stop them from amending parts or all of it? Do everyone a favor – call Congress and tell them to vote NO!
I am sorry about poor people without insurance .I did vote but not for the current propagandist that is in office.
I believe we need to head back to a historical James town mentality.
You don't work ???You don't Eat or have health care. Work until retirement and help fund this country then social security should be there for you and health care as well.. OH WAIT the administration has used all that money to fund feed the homeless and hungry Lazy's. bigger government is never better government.
Thhis health care plan will put all small buisness out of buisness since they won't be able to afford the company insurance plan .good by capitalism hello communism.
We can pass a bill that mandates the creators of the health plan to be participants, Furthermore, they shoul not be allowed to go outside the plan. If we can get this, they will come up with a great plan>
Wow, you people are selfish. Have some faith in your country.
If you want to excuse a bill containing a public health care option, then you might as well leave sickly poor children without any type of aid. If you were a less fortunate parent with a sick child, youd be cursing at the gov't for not helping…
Thank you Brian! There are SOOO many private companies that suck and the stock market was a huge concern. I work for the government and although it is very beauracratic and red tape it is required because the people want government to be ACCOUNTABLE…we are constantly audited and have tons of streamlined policies to follow. What makes it harder is when taxpayers scream to cut taxes the programs to help people get cut and the system is overloaded due to our inability to cut corners. The people want efficiency and quality but they don't want to pay for it! The people are the government!
first off i don't believe that congress should even think about passing this bill unless they can prove that they have read every single page and understand it…We do need a health reform but not at the expense of my children and grandchildren and their kids…I have health insurance thru my company, which is a small fence company and they are all ready feeling the pain from the whole taxing anybody making over 250,000 a year and now if this passes and they have to pay more what do you think will happen, they will start laying off more people in order for they company to make a profit…I am a independent who voted for Obama because we need change, so i believe that we need to not pass this bill and congress needs to go back to the drawing board take their time and when they can stop trying to spend the money i don't have then come back and try again
Response to Steve Payne: If we’re already paying for them, why not allow them to see a doctor at less cost than the emergency room doctors? Or in that case, how about you enforce the laws already on the books and deport them. Response to durairaj: Ruin your freedom? How about the Patriot Act? Having a national health care plan impedes your freedoms in any way, shape or form. Not to mention, you’re probably already on a national health care plan, its called Medicare!!! Should we dump that to? Or how about privatizing Medicare and Social Security…after the risks we’ve all seen with stock market…it seems the government run program is a much more secure and safer bet..
I live in California. I have for most of my 53 years. In the past 20 years there has been such an influx of Mexicans over the border we can't control the medical costs because we can't deny them the medical attention they need to give birth to the countless thousands of new citizens that are created without our approval…..and the Liberals want to give them MORE!!!
This bill was written by people other then Congress! Not only don’t Congressmen read the bill they have someone else write it too! How lazy! And seeing how the government has run everything else into the ground I vote NO on this bill!
obama and his cronies of chicago
are planning to ruin our freedom.we will
prevai and throw them out.we will get back our life,liberty and pursuit of happiness.
i am 80 years old and will not allow thes
devils of chicago to prevail
The VA, the PO, and Amtrack have never been funded properly, but the health care system will HAVE to be. There IS a plan to fund it. The same arguement you use against public health care, is the same arguement I use against the private insurance companies.
Thanks for listening.
Impeach him! !
The cost of this plan will be grossley under-estimated as the history of government projected costs always are. We can expect a minimum of two to four times the estimated cost.
Once the plan is adopted, you will see amendments added in the dark of night and/or attached to other bills as is the history of Congress.
The Post Office, Amtrack, and VA health care are just some examples of federal government management in its best form.
The billions and billions of dollars in Medicare/Medicaid corruption is another example of the federal government not being capable of reasonable oversight. Imagine what the corruption will be in a natioanl health care program.