Want to know what's in the Senate healthcare reform bill?

[man4allcats]

In their petition to stop this bill, Firedoglake summarizes as follows:


1. Forces you to pay up to 8% of your income to private insurance corporations -- whether you want to or not

2. If you refuse to buy the insurance, you'll have to pay penalties of up to 2% of your annual income to the IRS

3. After being forced to pay thousands in premiums for junk insurance, you can still be on the hook for up to $11,900 a year in out-of-pocket medical expenses.

4. Massive restriction on a woman's right to choose, designed to trigger a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court

5. Paid for by taxes on the middle class insurance plan you have right now through your employer, causing them to cut back benefits and increase co-pays

6. Many of the taxes to pay for the bill start now, but most Americans won't see any benefits -- like an end to discrimination against those with preexisting conditions -- until 2014 when the program begins.

7. Allows insurance companies to charge people who are older 300% more than others

8. Grants monopolies to to drug companies that will keep generic versions of expensive biotech drugs from ever coming to market.

9. No reimportation of prescription drugs, which would save consumers $100 billion over 10 years

10. The cost of medical care will continue to rise, and insurance premiums for a family of 4 will rise an average of $1000 a year -- meaning in 10 years, you family's insurance premium will be $10,000 more annually than it is right now.

[secondwind]

1. it will get revised, amended, chopped up, and at the end, you will LOVE it. n/t

[man4allcats]

3. What I would love is

Single Payer.

[hayu_lol]

4. You only think it will be revised, amended, and/or chopped up...

how much of any of these apply to the Biden Bankruptcy Bill(flawed)and/or Medicare Part D(flawed)?

You are only hoping that Congress will revisit this mongrel bill.

Further, if this bill hits seniors as we think it will, you had better buy a house large enough to house both moms and pops plus both sets of grandparents. They will be living with you.

[ixion]

5. yeah, right

:eyes:

Little chance of that.

[BeFree]

2. What's in? What's out?

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.

Frankly, with the high prices and the bad economy, I would imagine that the Insurance companies are on the brink of going bankrupt and this bill is meant to bail 'em out.

Medicare is about bankrupt, the banks are, so is wall street, and so are the Insurance companies.

Of course, if they came out and told you that, the whole system would just collapse. And that can't happen.

Damned if we do damned if we don't.

But it has been one hell of a ride, eh?