Nov.7, ‘09: Pelosi: Buy health insurance or go to jail?
ByPhil Kline, Ex Attorney General of Kansas.
Finally, straight forward proof of the dramatic loss of liberty accompanying Speaker Pelosi’s health care “reform” bill. The debate has always truly been about liberty — who gets to decide what and when.
Speaker Pelosi’s bill, H.R. 3962, requires all Americans to a purchase a minimum health care insurance plan. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this basic required plan will cost the average family $15,000 a year by 2016. Failure to purchase this insurance will result in a substantial fine.
Failure to pay the fine can constitute “felony willful evasion” which is punishable by a $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison. (H.R. 3962, §7201).[1]
Long ago, much of America’s political establishment and much of America’s business community abandoned principle when dealing with health care issues. This abandonment ushered formularies, treatment tables, Marx and bureaucrats into the examination room.
Currently, government spending comprises 46 cents of every health care dollar. Private insurance pays 42 cents of every dollar and the patient represents only 12 cents of the dollar. It is obvious who has the power in this equation.
Large insurance interests are willing to sell out liberty and support health care “reform” if they have the additional guaranteed premiums from the healthy and government is the only power that can create a market through the force of law.
The insurance companies have threatened to oppose any bill that does not create this new government generated and mandated market. The companies argued that they would go bankrupt under the Democratic plan due to the requirement to provide coverage to high cost patients with pre-existing conditions. The companies claimed these new mandated premiums are necessary for solvency. Pelosi needs the votes and cannot afford a full scale war with insurance.
And so Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have offered the uninsured an offer they cannot pass up: buy insurance or go to jail! Heck, why don’t we outlaw poverty as well.
And so now you have it — the most tangible example of the dramatic freedom Americans are in danger of surrendering.
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