EDITED
OP-ED REBUTTAL 09-17
Accurate info on health
care bills really matters
BY ELIZABETH BERNEY, ESQ.
The huge turnout at tea parties all over the country demonstrates how concerned the American public is about the proposed healthcare legislation, and reveals the publics desire for accurate information about legislation that will drastically affect our lives and the lives of generations to come.
While Democratic Congressmember Joseph Crowley can be commended for meeting with constituents regarding health care (unlike a certain other Congressmember in northeast Queens and Nassau who has been hiding from the public), it was very disappointing to read all the inaccuracies and misinformation provided by Crowley in his Op Ed in the Queens Courier (‘Your Health Reform Thoughts Really Matter, August 27, 2009’).
Crowley’s statements that the reform proposal is fiscally responsibly and that the reform is fully paid for, both by making current Federal health programs more efficient and through a surtax on the income of only the wealthiest individuals, are both untrue. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment concluded that enactment of the House of Representatives health care bill (H.R. 3200) would cost over $1 trillion and result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010 to 2019 period.
Moreover, the CBO’s July 25, 2009 analysis of the President’s proposed Independent Medicare Advisory Act of 2009 reveals that the cost savings may be obtained by reducing Medicare payments in areas of the country with higher spending. That means New York will likely be hit badly. The Medicare cuts will likely go much further than merely reducing inefficiencies.
In addition, the surtax on wealthy individuals is only one of five new health care taxes in the House bill. In addition to the surtax (which kicks in as low as $175,000 modified adjusted gross income, for married persons filing separately), there are four other new health care taxes (plus other general tax changes thrown into the bill) that affect virtually all of us.
These new health care taxes include a punitive tax on persons who fail to obtain insurance, which is acceptable to the new health benefits czar; a $100 per day per employee excise tax on employers who fail to contribute 72 percent of individual coverage and 65 percent of family coverage premiums; an 8 percent payroll tax on employers who fail to provide acceptable coverage, and a per capita tax on health insurance plans.
In addition, Crowley’s discussion of the Medicare Part D program neglected to mention that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that under the health care proposal, Part D premiums will increase five percent in 2011 and continue to increase thereafter, reaching a 20 percent increase in 2019.
Crowley’s discussion of the credit for certain small businesses also leaves out crucial information. Crowley fails to mention that the credit starts phasing out once a business has more than 10 employees and once the average income for business employees exceeds $20,000.
Just as a physician needs accurate data to treat a patient, the American public needs accurate information to judge the merit (or lack of merit) of the proposed health care legislation.
Elizabeth (Liz) Berney, Esq. studied tax and tax policy at the University of Chicago Law School. Her legal career has included tax, international litigation, securities fraud litigation and consumer safety. Berney was the Republican candidate for Congress in New York’s 5th Congressional District in 2008.
