Originally Posted by Ramulux
Private insurance companies do the exact same thing. If a doctor submits a claim for insurance reimbursement they are paid according to the pay rates set forth by the insurance company. That is all the government is doing. These rates put forth by the government are also generally in line with the standard market cost for health care services.
Like you said, 2/3 is already paid for and the other third is gonna be spread out over ten years. So that is $300 billion for the most comprehensive social reform in our history. A reform that is going to provide every child born in this country with the ability to go to the doctor regardless of their parents income bracket. That is a beautiful fucking thing and you are bitching about $300 billion. We just had over a trillion dollars literally stolen from us in these bailouts. That is a trillion dollars that none of us are ever going to get back. But now we have a chance to spend $300 billion on something that is going to benefit millions and millions of people in profound ways, and you have a problem with that. The tax increases that have been proposed so far do not effect anyone making less than $350,00 a year and are pretty minor.
This proposal you are talking about has nothing to do with small businesses. This would impose a surtax of 1% on couples making $350,00 to $500,000, 1.5% between $500,000 and $1 million, and 5% for couples making over $1 million. This is also just a proposal and it was introduced a while ago so I do not think it ended up turning into anything.
I had also heard about how Massachusetts had begun fining residents for not purchasing health care, but that is under the current private system. However, I had not heard that you would be fined if you did not accept coverage with the public option. I do not really see how that would work but if you could provide some sources I would appreciate it because I cannot find any information about this.