TT Note: Perhaps the public and Congress should read the bill. Then, we would know when someone is trying to mislead us with eloquent words. Listening to the words last night makes one wonder what bill has he seen? Certainly, it's one that no one else has!
President Obama Misleads Public on Health Care for Illegal Aliens; Illegal Aliens Would Benefit Under H.R. 3200
/PRNewswire/ -- "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," President Obama said in a carefully worded statement to a Joint Session of Congress and the American public last night. The problem, notes the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), is that the health care reforms proposed in H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009, clearly would benefit illegal aliens.
"Perhaps the reforms that President Obama advocates would not cover illegal aliens, but those are not the reforms currently under consideration by Congress," commented Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "H.R. 3200, the legislation that the House will be voting on, would allow illegal aliens to benefit from the government-financed public option, and includes no verification provisions to prevent illegal aliens from receiving taxpayer subsidies to purchase private health insurance."
President Obama's assertion that illegal alien would not be covered under AAHCA is directly contradicted by an August 25 report, Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200, issued by the Congressional Research Service. The nonpartisan research arm of Congress concluded, "H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens - whether legally or illegal present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently - participating in the [Health Insurance] Exchange."
Once in the Exchange, participants are free to enroll in the government run health insurance program. This public option, established under H.R. 3200, would be heavily or entirely subsidized by the American taxpayers. While illegal aliens are barred from receiving "affordability credits" to help pay for private insurance, CRS noted the absence of any mechanism in the bill to verify citizenship or legal residency.
"There is no reason why the controversy over whether illegal aliens will be eligible for massive health care subsidies should persist," said Stein. "The president, congressional leaders, and the public all agree they should not. The authors of H.R. 3200 can easily remove the ambiguities from the House bill, and Senate leaders can include specific language barring illegal aliens from all nonemergency benefits in the bill that is being written in that chamber.
"President Obama himself can also play an important role in seeing to it that his wishes are carried out by publicly urging leaders of both houses to include clear, unambiguous language in their legislation that would preclude illegal aliens from coverage under his health care reform proposal," Stein continued. "FAIR stands ready to work with the White House and congressional leaders to develop legislative language that would make sure that President Obama's pledge to the American people is fulfilled."
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Showing posts with label bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bill. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
No Taxes, Just the Give Me the Health Plan
TT Note: Hmmm. Illegal? Don't have to pay taxes? But Americans pay for health care of illegal aliens? Doesn't seem right, does it? Let your Congressman know your views on the subject.
Congressional Research Service: Illegal Aliens Can Receive Benefits Under House Health Care Bill
/PRNewswire/ -- Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the "research arm" for the United States Congress, issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).
The report, Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200, states definitively, "H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens - whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently - participating in the Exchange." H.R. 3200 establishes a Health Insurance Exchange which would provide individuals and small businesses with access to health care plans, including the "public option" to be managed by the government.
CRS also confirms FAIR's assessment that the House bill does not include a mechanism to prevent illegal aliens from receiving "affordability credits" that would subsidize the purchase of private health insurance. CRS specifically noted the absence "of a provision in the bill specifying the verification procedure." Because the language is ambiguous, all CRS could reasonably conclude is that any eligibility determination would be the responsibility of the Health Choices Commissioner.
The CRS analysis comes after weeks of denials by Members of Congress that illegal aliens could receive benefits under the House bill. These denials were echoed by countless media and health care "experts" who dismissed public concerns as myths, or as politically orchestrated attacks.
"Case closed. Illegal aliens will be eligible to participate in the health care program offered by the House bill unless Congress acts to amend the bill," stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The loopholes and omissions in the House bill are not there by accident," continued Stein. "These loopholes were intended to extend benefits to illegal aliens while allowing Members of Congress to deny those facts to the American people."
The House Ways & Means Committee had the opportunity to include language that would have barred illegal aliens from enrolling in the proposed public option or receiving the affordability credits, but chose not to. An amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) would have applied the same eligibility verification procedures for coverage under H.R. 3200 that have been used for years to prove eligibility for Medicaid. That amendment was rejected by a party-line vote.
Based on its own findings and those of CRS, FAIR is calling on Congress to:
-- Adopt clear language that makes illegal aliens (and nonimmigrants)
ineligible for enrollment in publicly funded or subsidized health
insurance programs.
-- Require electronic eligibility verification for any health care reform
proposal through the existing Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) system.
-- Maintain a five-year eligibility waiting period for legal immigrants
to ensure that individuals don't come to the U.S. and immediately tap
the system.
"For the past month, irate citizens, concerned that their tax dollars will be used to fund health care for illegal aliens, have been unfairly portrayed as uninformed rabble by their elected representatives and a host of media organizations," said Stein. "It is time for the politicians to close the loopholes, and for the media establishment to acknowledge that they got it wrong."
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Congressional Research Service: Illegal Aliens Can Receive Benefits Under House Health Care Bill
/PRNewswire/ -- Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the "research arm" for the United States Congress, issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).
The report, Treatment of Noncitizens in H.R. 3200, states definitively, "H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens - whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently - participating in the Exchange." H.R. 3200 establishes a Health Insurance Exchange which would provide individuals and small businesses with access to health care plans, including the "public option" to be managed by the government.
CRS also confirms FAIR's assessment that the House bill does not include a mechanism to prevent illegal aliens from receiving "affordability credits" that would subsidize the purchase of private health insurance. CRS specifically noted the absence "of a provision in the bill specifying the verification procedure." Because the language is ambiguous, all CRS could reasonably conclude is that any eligibility determination would be the responsibility of the Health Choices Commissioner.
The CRS analysis comes after weeks of denials by Members of Congress that illegal aliens could receive benefits under the House bill. These denials were echoed by countless media and health care "experts" who dismissed public concerns as myths, or as politically orchestrated attacks.
"Case closed. Illegal aliens will be eligible to participate in the health care program offered by the House bill unless Congress acts to amend the bill," stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The loopholes and omissions in the House bill are not there by accident," continued Stein. "These loopholes were intended to extend benefits to illegal aliens while allowing Members of Congress to deny those facts to the American people."
The House Ways & Means Committee had the opportunity to include language that would have barred illegal aliens from enrolling in the proposed public option or receiving the affordability credits, but chose not to. An amendment offered by Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) would have applied the same eligibility verification procedures for coverage under H.R. 3200 that have been used for years to prove eligibility for Medicaid. That amendment was rejected by a party-line vote.
Based on its own findings and those of CRS, FAIR is calling on Congress to:
-- Adopt clear language that makes illegal aliens (and nonimmigrants)
ineligible for enrollment in publicly funded or subsidized health
insurance programs.
-- Require electronic eligibility verification for any health care reform
proposal through the existing Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) system.
-- Maintain a five-year eligibility waiting period for legal immigrants
to ensure that individuals don't come to the U.S. and immediately tap
the system.
"For the past month, irate citizens, concerned that their tax dollars will be used to fund health care for illegal aliens, have been unfairly portrayed as uninformed rabble by their elected representatives and a host of media organizations," said Stein. "It is time for the politicians to close the loopholes, and for the media establishment to acknowledge that they got it wrong."
-----
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Thursday, January 01, 2009
Obesity Comes With a Price Tag
(BUSINESS WIRE)--There are hard dollars-and-cents costs to being overweight or obese, according to Humana (NYSE: HUM), one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies.
Specifically, Humana estimates these costs at the following for 2009:
* $19.39 in added health care costs for every overweight pound;
* $1,037.64 for every overweight individual;
* $127 billion added to the national health care bill.
Overweight people are more prone to heart disease, stroke, diabetes — even some kinds of cancers. Chronic diseases that are a result of weighing too much are an ever-increasing part of America’s health care bill.
Carol McCall — a research actuary at Humana — culled through national health care data and the data from Humana’s members, and here is what she found.
Like butter and sugar, obesity has a cost per pound
On average, the annual per-pound cost of being overweight — that is, the added cost per added pound of the overweight and the obese — is $19.39. The cost increases with age.
For 25-year-olds, it averages $10.25 for every overweight pound. By age 64, it increases to $26.32. (On average, overweight people are 29 pounds overweight; the obese are 82 pounds overweight.)
For someone age 25, the added annual health care cost is $209 for the overweight and $960 for the obese. By age 64, this grows to $610 extra for the overweight and $2,300 for the obese.
Why this impacts the national healthcare crisis
There are more than 122 million overweight and obese Americans between the ages of 20 and 65. On average, their additional health care costs are $534 per year for an overweight person and $1,614 for an obese person. Those costs add up to a $127 billion crisis. The increase in obesity prevalence – going from 23 percent to 33 percent between 1994 and 2004 – added $34 billion to the annual health care bill.
A person who is 25 and obese today, and remains obese until they’re 65, will average $179,000 more in health care costs (in 2009 dollars, assuming health care inflation of 4 percent a year) over those 40 years.
A new way to look at and to count calories
Maintaining all of those extra pounds requires Americans to take in 23 trillion calories a year. That’s the equivalent of 46 billion Big Macs, 114 billion Krispy Kreme donuts or 152 billion bags of chips.
These calories have the same energy as the following:
* 10 1,000-megawatt power stations generating for a year
* 788 million gallons of gasoline
* 10 million tons of coal
* 96 trillion AA alkaline batteries
There is a way to get out of this national problem
The good news is that Humana’s data also indicates that just a small change – a reduction of 276 calories a day for the overweight – makes a big difference. Cutting that little from each day’s intake would start moving millions of Americans from the category of overweight to healthy. That means people don’t have to re-engineer their lives to get on a healthier path. Incremental change — giving up one soft drink and walking an extra 2,500 steps each day, for example — will do the job.
“If obesity were eliminated, or even significantly reduced,” says McCall, “the money saved would be significant. It could pay for food for the poor, health insurance for the uninsured or millions of college educations every year.”
Dr. Jonathan Lord, Humana’s Chief Innovation Officer — who oversees Humana’s efforts to reduce health care costs by engaging people in healthy behaviors — put it this way: “In this time of financial crisis, it’s now clear that Americans can improve the economy as well as their own health prospects by giving up a few pounds.”
“Riding a bike and taking a walk in the park burn calories,” Dr. Lord says, “but those activities are also fun. Life is so hectic and we are so dependent on cars that many of us have forgotten that.”
Humana’s Innovation Center is full of teams trying to find new ways to engage people in their health. The company believes that the key to success is to meet people where they are: at school, playing video games, on cell phones, walking or riding bikes in the park.
Humana, for example, created the Freewheelin bike-sharing program, which debuted at the Democratic and Republican national conventions last summer. In less than two weeks, 7,523 rides were taken, 42,000 miles were ridden, 1.3 million calories were burned – and participants who hadn’t been on a bike in years raved about the experience. Now, Humana is partnering in B-cycle, a new company it created to sell bike-sharing programs to cities and universities.
Humana also is partnering in Sensei, a cell phone application to support people in making better nutritional choices and in physical activity. And the company has also pioneered several very successful pedometer programs in England and in this country.
-----
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Specifically, Humana estimates these costs at the following for 2009:
* $19.39 in added health care costs for every overweight pound;
* $1,037.64 for every overweight individual;
* $127 billion added to the national health care bill.
Overweight people are more prone to heart disease, stroke, diabetes — even some kinds of cancers. Chronic diseases that are a result of weighing too much are an ever-increasing part of America’s health care bill.
Carol McCall — a research actuary at Humana — culled through national health care data and the data from Humana’s members, and here is what she found.
Like butter and sugar, obesity has a cost per pound
On average, the annual per-pound cost of being overweight — that is, the added cost per added pound of the overweight and the obese — is $19.39. The cost increases with age.
For 25-year-olds, it averages $10.25 for every overweight pound. By age 64, it increases to $26.32. (On average, overweight people are 29 pounds overweight; the obese are 82 pounds overweight.)
For someone age 25, the added annual health care cost is $209 for the overweight and $960 for the obese. By age 64, this grows to $610 extra for the overweight and $2,300 for the obese.
Why this impacts the national healthcare crisis
There are more than 122 million overweight and obese Americans between the ages of 20 and 65. On average, their additional health care costs are $534 per year for an overweight person and $1,614 for an obese person. Those costs add up to a $127 billion crisis. The increase in obesity prevalence – going from 23 percent to 33 percent between 1994 and 2004 – added $34 billion to the annual health care bill.
A person who is 25 and obese today, and remains obese until they’re 65, will average $179,000 more in health care costs (in 2009 dollars, assuming health care inflation of 4 percent a year) over those 40 years.
A new way to look at and to count calories
Maintaining all of those extra pounds requires Americans to take in 23 trillion calories a year. That’s the equivalent of 46 billion Big Macs, 114 billion Krispy Kreme donuts or 152 billion bags of chips.
These calories have the same energy as the following:
* 10 1,000-megawatt power stations generating for a year
* 788 million gallons of gasoline
* 10 million tons of coal
* 96 trillion AA alkaline batteries
There is a way to get out of this national problem
The good news is that Humana’s data also indicates that just a small change – a reduction of 276 calories a day for the overweight – makes a big difference. Cutting that little from each day’s intake would start moving millions of Americans from the category of overweight to healthy. That means people don’t have to re-engineer their lives to get on a healthier path. Incremental change — giving up one soft drink and walking an extra 2,500 steps each day, for example — will do the job.
“If obesity were eliminated, or even significantly reduced,” says McCall, “the money saved would be significant. It could pay for food for the poor, health insurance for the uninsured or millions of college educations every year.”
Dr. Jonathan Lord, Humana’s Chief Innovation Officer — who oversees Humana’s efforts to reduce health care costs by engaging people in healthy behaviors — put it this way: “In this time of financial crisis, it’s now clear that Americans can improve the economy as well as their own health prospects by giving up a few pounds.”
“Riding a bike and taking a walk in the park burn calories,” Dr. Lord says, “but those activities are also fun. Life is so hectic and we are so dependent on cars that many of us have forgotten that.”
Humana’s Innovation Center is full of teams trying to find new ways to engage people in their health. The company believes that the key to success is to meet people where they are: at school, playing video games, on cell phones, walking or riding bikes in the park.
Humana, for example, created the Freewheelin bike-sharing program, which debuted at the Democratic and Republican national conventions last summer. In less than two weeks, 7,523 rides were taken, 42,000 miles were ridden, 1.3 million calories were burned – and participants who hadn’t been on a bike in years raved about the experience. Now, Humana is partnering in B-cycle, a new company it created to sell bike-sharing programs to cities and universities.
Humana also is partnering in Sensei, a cell phone application to support people in making better nutritional choices and in physical activity. And the company has also pioneered several very successful pedometer programs in England and in this country.
-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
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Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
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