Congressional Bill to Tackle the Leviathan, ObamaCare

Dees Illustration

Catherine J. Frompovich

A Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Tom Price of the 6th Congressional district from the State of Georgia, introduced H.R. 2009,[1] known as “Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act of 2013.” 

May 16, 2013, H.R. 2009 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it may languish, even though it’s been introduced in the first session of the 113th Congress. Nevertheless, it could wind up sine die for lack of action. Why? Well, basically it’s a partisan bill having 98 Republican co-sponsors. Is that the kiss of death? Who knows? But, where are the Democrats who oppose ObamaCare?

However, H.R. 2009 represents congressional concern for equitable action about getting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, dealt with, instead of having taxpayers languish in povertyville from the tremendous fiscal impacts ObamaCare now is conjuring up.

For example:

A major problem is excessive costs. Insurance premiums are anticipated to rise by almost a third, from 10 percent to 13 percent, and the percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on health care costs may jump from 17 percent to 21 percent by 2019. And he mandate "tax" is painfully regressive, imposing higher relative costs on lower-income families.[2]

According to The Fiscal Times, “Unravel Obamacare and You Get a Train Wreck” 

A University of Chicago study shows that nearly half of existing individual plans (as opposed to employer-provided group plans) will not qualify under Obamacare mandates for coverage. This means that these already-insured Americans will have to start shopping around again and spend more--25 percent more or even worse. In Oregon, one insurer is applying for a 53 percent increase in individual-plan premiums in order to bring their insurance into compliance with the ACA, including the pre-existing condition mandate.[3]

The above does not take into consideration all the stopgap measures employers are finding or creating in order not to have to deal with ObamaCare, i.e., putting employees on part-time status, or paying the fines, which they consider more cost-effective, thereby making employees find health insurance in the exchanges. Will unemployment rates increase due to ObamaCare?

Under ACA, nearly all companies with 50 or more full-time employees will have to either offer health coverage or face a fine of $2,000 per full-timer after the first 30 workers.[4]

How about this headline!

Obamacare Causing Nearly Half Of Small Businesses To Freeze Hiring

Thirty-eight percent of small businesses have pulled back their business growth plans because of Obamacare. Almost 20 percent of small employers have reduced employee work forces because they are concerned about the costs of Obamacare.[5] 

Then there’s something very few either thought about or realized the impact of its happening:

With young people’s support for Obamacare at or below 40 percent in many polls, the likelihood of the exchanges’ experiencing “market failure” is high. If that happens, the whole rotten edifice of Obamacare will be exposed.[6]

If that 40 percent holds true along with the findings of 

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, has found that less than half of those under 30 will sign up for Obamacare coverage on the exchanges if their premiums rise by 30 percent.[7]

ObamaCare may implode under its own weight, something I think Mr. Obama will become extremely agitated about and use a Presidential Executive Order to bring on the hellcats of control mechanisms. But that’s this writer’s opinion. How can we prevent that from happening? 

Well, Americans have to start thinking about and implementing national survival tactics rather than clinging onto the very party politics that got us where we are at now. Remember how the Democrats pushed ObamaCare through. What a nightmare, but obviously a wet dream for some.

Govtrack.us lists the co-sponsors along with this prognosis: 5% chance of getting past committee; 3% chance of being enacted. But why, when most polls say that most citizens don’t like or want ObamaCare. The devil obviously is in party politics. 

Let’s take a look at the bill and see what it says and why no Democrats or Independents have signed on as co-sponsors. The bill is only two pages, not two thousand pages! Surely, everyone has the time to read it.

H.R. 2009 was introduced 

To prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from enforcing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

According to the Act, “Congress finds the following:

(1) On May 10, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service admitted that it singled out advocacy groups, based on ideology, seeking tax-exempt status. 

(2) This action raises pertinent questions about the agency’s ability to implement and oversee Public Law 111–148 and Public Law 111–152. 

(3) This action could be an indication of future Internal Revenue Service abuses in relation to Public Law 111–148 and Public Law 111–152 given that it is their responsibility to enforce a key provision, the individual mandate. 

(4) Americans accept the principle that patients, families, and doctors should be making medical decisions, not the Federal Government.

And in Section 3, the bill would prohibit enforcement of PPACA (ObamaCare) and HCERA (Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act)[8] and the Secretary of the Treasury or any delegate shall not implement or enforce any provisions of or amendments made by Public Law 111–148 or 111–152.

The four items above, as listed in the bill, ought to encourage every American, regardless of party affiliation, to take action and become proactive in getting support for H.R. 2009’s passage into law as soon as possible, if not sooner. You can contact your members of Congress in both chambers here.

As we can realize from the language of the bill, some members of Congress grasp that ObamaCare is much more than healthcare; it’s become an abuse of power law. Consider what (1) and (3) address.The U.S. economy cannot afford to take any of the financial hits from ObamaCare that are built into it and will be coming down the line. Yes, we need healthcare, but it must be equitable, affordable, and not become the progeny of a political system run amuck that eventually got the U.S. Supreme Court involved seemingly because of legal semantics. What a shame we’ve gravitated to this point because of party politics. However, as I see it, we have an opportunity to fix that now. Let’s do it. Let the voice of the public be heard loud and clear. 

Notes:

[1] http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr2009ih/pdf/BILLS-113hr2009ih.pdf 
[2] http://www.nationalcenter.org/P21NVBorelliHealth90412.html 
[3] http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2013/05/02/Unravel-Obamacare-and-You-Get-a-Train-Wreck.aspx#page1 
[4] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/obamacare-small-business-hiring_n_3468498.html 
[5] Ibid. 
[6] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/351661/young-people-should-say-no-obamacare-john-fund 
[7] Ibid. 
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Care_and_Education_Reconciliation_Act_of_2010 

Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies.

Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.

Catherine’s latest book, A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.

Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008).

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