Health Care Reform Bill a Sceme to Raise Taxes, Not Affordable Health Care

Lets stop kidding ourselves and start calling the bill what it really is, the Jobs Killing and Anti Small Business Act of 2009.

The bill says it will mandate that employers purchase health insurance for their employees or pay a fine of up to 8% of their payroll. It also says that small business owners must buy insurance for themselve.. But early in the bill it prohibits insurance companies from selling health insurance from the day the bill is passed.

Exhibit summary of the bill passed by the House of Representatives:

•Employer Mandate: Requires employers to provide insurance or pay a penalty for not doing so. Businesses with more than $500,000 in revenues would pay a penalty of 8% of payroll. There is a graduated penalty for firms falling between $250,000 to $500,000 in revenues with business with less than $250,000 exempt from the mandate. (The graduated rates are 2% of payroll for employers with payrolls above $250,000 to $300,000; 4% for employers with payrolls above $300,000 to $350,000; and 6% for employers with payrolls above $350,000 to $400,000.)

•Individual Mandate: Individuals and the self-employed are required to buy health insurance or pay a financial penalty, which would be 2.5 percent of income.

•Higher Taxes: A surtax would be imposed on higher-income individuals - many of which are small business owners. Individuals earning $280,000 and couples earning $350,000 would get hit with a 1% tax; those making $500,000-$1,000,000 would be taxed 1.5%; and couples earning more than $1 million would pay a 5.4% tax. These tax rates would increase if certain targets are not met.

Now lets review the language used on page 16 of the bill and see if it is possible to meet these goals or if companies will have to pay the 8% penalty for not providing insurance.

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day of the year the legislation becomes law."

The whole thing is a scam to get more tax dollars since it is impossible for anyone to buy private health insurance, but yet it is mandated or they have to pay a penalty.