However, you neglected to point out that the proposed legislation H.R. 3200 will EXEMPT unions from paying tax on healthcare benefits, as opposed to the rest of us.
There was no mention that the Massachusetts plan is failing and TennCare (not mentioned at all) is dead.
There was no mention (under Reich’s assertions) that the public option would be subsidized with our taxes, reducing their overhead, and giving them unfair advantage over the private insurers.
That hardly gives us a “choice” in the long run.
There was no discussion of the historical devaluation of providers’ services by Medicare in context of the “public plan”, paying providers Medicare plus 5 percent. That’s this year. The reality is that will be Medicare plus 0 percent next year, and then the inevitable downward reimbursement by the socialists (I am presently reimbursed less than 5 percent (CPI corrected) for services presently when compared to 1985, when I began private practice.)
There was no discussion of the consequences of requiring employers above a certain (meaning arbitrary) size to provide employee coverage…that is, they will reduce staff to meet this “certain size”, increasing those receiving welfare and reducing overall tax revenues.
Thanks for your time and again, I appreciate what you do for us.
Lance
Lance S. Ferguson, MD
Commonwealth Eye Surgery
