Do not be deceived by this alphabet soup of support. The positions of the AARP and AMA amount to political posturing divorced from the reality of the legislation.
The AARP position, much like that of Consumers Union, is a masterpiece of disingenuous and misleading prevarication, starting with this sentence in the opening paragraph:
"The Association’s support follows nearly two years of work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to craft a health care reform plan that meets the needs of AARP’s nearly 40 million members and all older Americans."No, there is nothing bipartisan about it. Republicans literally have been shut out of the House legislative process and no major Republican ideas were allowed into any of the current bills. This legislation is solely about the expansion of government, without consideration for any market or individual mechanisms to save costs and expand coverage.
The legislation also will be disastrous for senior citizens. The bill enacts $426billion in cuts to Medicare and other federal programs and $572 billion in tax increases (apart from the mandate tax), much of which will fall on seniors. The bill also will lead to de facto rationing, most of which will fall on seniors, as "bending the cost curve" leads to bureaucratic decision-making and guidelines as to the worth of a life later in life relative to the cost of care.
I really hate to use the word "lying" because it is so overused. So I'll say that AARP is not being "fully accurate in its presentation, as it must be aware" when it makes such statements in its press release and public relations campaign.
The AMA statement is even more delusional:
“On balance, H.R. 3962, The Affordable Health Care for America Act, is consistent with our principles of pluralism, freedom of choice, freedom of physician practice and universal access. It will significantly expand health insurance coverage to Americans to empower patient and physician decision making; institute meaningful insurance market reforms; make substantial investments in quality; institute prevention and wellness initiatives; provide incentives to states that adopt certificate of merit and/or early offer liability reforms, and reduce administrative burdens.”I have analyzed the horrific aspects of this legislation on this blog several dozen times. From de facto rationing, to tax increases, to unprecedented mandates which push the limits of the Constitution, to IRS involvement in our health care system, to the creation of dozens of new bureaucracies, to job killing provisions, to expansion of Medicaid dependencies, to lobbyist insider deals in exchange for support, this legislation if implemented would spell the death knell for our health care system, with senior citizens being the first victims.
The AARP and AMA statements are political statements, divorced from any reality as to what is in these bills. The AARP and AMA have made Democratic friends on Capitol Hill, but at the cost of selling out their own members and the American people.
There is no other conclusion, at least not for anyone who has read the bill.
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The AMA--something which I have never belonged to--unfortunately does not represent the majority of physicians in this country.
ReplyDeletehttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704795604574519671055918380.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
ReplyDeleteBetsy McCaughey, HillaryCare's nemesis, does a good job pointing out the facts. My so far noted one is that illegal immigrants will parasite MORE on the U.S. taxpayer, they being the only ones who will continue to get free health care even if they make more than U.S. citizens.