Hi there,
Please review these responses to the line items you’ve pulled out (probably from the same source that I received these false comments.) These are not really examples of what’s in the bill, they are exaggerations at best, and lies at worst…

* Sec. 163, Pg. 59, Lines 21-24 – Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

[comment] This is a misleading statement, and is not spelled out in the bill. Since this section 4(C) comes right after the section that is mentioned above, 2(D), it more than likely means that it allows for immediate payment from your health insurance company for the amount they say they will cover, which has already been verified in the overall SEC 1173, of which this is a part. It really has nothing to do with the GOV taking your money at all it might have something to do with the HCP knowing instantly how much you are responsible for since the insurance has immediately paid their portion.

* Sec. 401.59B, Pg. 167, Lines 18-23 – ANY individual who does not have acceptable care, according to government, will be taxed 2.5% of income.

[comment] Correct – I think the idea is similar to being required to carry auto insurance…if you hit me and you didn’t have coverage, then all the costs are absorbed by me and my insurance company, which isn’t fair. If people either have a plan or are taxed, then there is money or a plan regardless of who gets ‘hit’ by an illness, etc.

* Sec. 59B, Pg. 170, Line 1 – Any NONRESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay for their health care.)

[comment] According to US tax laws, a Non-resident Alien is “If a person does not meet either the Green Card or Substantial Presence Test, then that person is classified as a non-resident alien – A new arrival on a J-1 or F-1 visa is generally a non-resident alien” Also, Non-resident aliens are taxed only on their income from sources within the U.S. and on certain income connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the U.S. (source – Duke U. website)

* Sec. 152, Pg. 50-51 – HC will be provided to ALL NON-US citizens

[comment] FALSE!!! Here is the truth, directly from the language of the bill…” SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS – Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

* Sec. 1177, Pg. 354 – Government will RESTRICT enrollment of special needs people! “Extension of Authority of Special Needs Plans to Restrict Enrollment

[comment] False! This section modifies the SSA SEC 1859(f)(1), by “by striking ‘January 1, 2011’ and inserting ‘January 1, 2013 or January 1, 2016” which already restricts Medicare Adv plans to certain classes of special needs individuals (defined in SSA SEC 1859(b)(6)).

Too many pages for you, or maybe you are one of the uneducated who voted for Carribou Barbie

…” SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS – Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

I agree with most of your points. However the bill makes no provision for how we would restrict Non residents from participating. There was an amendment proposed that would put in place safegaurds to do so, but it was voted down.

Leftover Joe,

Candidate Barak Obama promised transparency. The language in this bill is very confusing, very misleading, so much so that the author of this article can read into the bill what he believes it means and then write what he has. I respect your defense of what you say the language means, but you must agree, the language is not clear. Candidate Obama also used the word ‘clarity’ in describing how his administration would operate.
Is this bill clear? Is Congress’ handling of this bill transparent? Is now President Obama fulfilling the promises of Candidate Obama in providing clarity and transparency? Should we the people need a bank of lawyers to understand clear and transparent legislature? No. No. No.
Do I trust him, or his congress? No.
Do you?

Take a look at this web site that give details on 48 claims that are being made about the Health Care Bill for factcheck.org (http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/twenty-six-lies-about-hr-3200/).

It’s hard enough to make a rational decision without all the distortion about the facts. The factcheck.org commentary is from August 2009, so some of the language they comment on may have changed. However, it does point out that there are a lot of misconceptions about this important topic.

Finally, this may all be moot since Scott Brown is the senator elect from MA taking away from that august body the power to prevent a filibuster and subvert a decision on the bill.

It’s too bad that there is not one place to go to get a simplified version of the facts on this bill that is easy to digest (say in under an hour) that is written for most people to understand. That’s what I call real transparency.

Yes. Just because YOU can’t read or understand the bill doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense. He’s not going to make a picture book for the masses, just because you don’t get it.