So all you Progressives, you DON'T believe that Obamacare robs us of Freedom of Choice? - Granite Grok

So all you Progressives, you DON’T believe that Obamacare robs us of Freedom of Choice?

Freedom – the ability to choose what is best without Government restraining that choice.  It is the freedom of knowing that the "better choices" have been pre-chosen by Government and that the judgment calls have already been made concerning the lesser choices – and the choices are not available.

Free markets?  I guess we are going to see the worst of the Soviet system here – central planning of our economy.  Ideology trumps actual results, I guess.

Obamacare – it certainly is true that the lesser choices, as judged by the Nanny State, have already been removed as IBD shows us (emphasis mine):

With House Democrats poised to pass the Senate health care bill with some reconciliation changes later today, it is worthwhile to take a comprehensive look at the freedoms we will lose.

Of course, the overhaul is supposed to provide us with security. But it will result in skyrocketing insurance costs and physicians leaving the field in droves, making it harder to afford and find medical care. We may be about to live Benjamin Franklin’s adage, “People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”

And the Progressives are just fine with that – after all, they’re in charge – what could go wrong??

The sections described below are taken from HR 3590 as agreed to by the Senate and from the reconciliation bill as displayed by the Rules Committee.

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employers’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 101 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).

10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).

11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))

13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a country where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).

14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)

18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).

19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).

You know, if Progressives want to have that security for themselves, I’m ok with that.  What most of us are not OK with, however, is that they seem to have a constant "holier than thou, smarter than everyone else in the room" attitude in believing that they have every right to make such decisions for everyone else.  What part of BusyBodies and Buttinskys did they not learn growing up?

You listening out there?  It’s OK to act as such with little kids – that’s what adults should do.  But as your kids get older, that routine gets old too (although, one never stops being a Dad, but the correct attitude is to stop being the parent and start being the advisor – after all it is THEIR life).

And it is %&#&A nuts that Progressives think that they can get away with treating adults as mere children that have to be told what to do!

Remember, November is coming – and these adults will tell you where to go!

 

A Votefor Obamacare means We Vote You Out

(H/T: Instapundit)

 

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