Watch out! We have been tweetered on Health Care
by Bruce Webb
No not ‘tweeted’, this is a whole new verb.
In a post yesterday Ken directed us to a debunking by Milt Shook of a list of talking points by Alan Caruba. Milt’s piece at his blog Please… Cut the Crap is here: Deconstructing Right Wing Lies. Important stuff and I’ll get back to it. But even more important was my discovery right in my local paper that this list wasn’t the product of Caruba’s source, but instead was the compilation of a series of tweets put out by someone named Peter Fleckenstein aka Fleckman. The article originated in the Denver Post: Tweeter’s talking points echo nationwide When you combine this with some new polling reported by MSNBC last night showing a very wide fact gap between those who rely on Fox News and those who look to CNN/MSNBC, which parallels that of cross tabs by party, race and region. In short it looks like Southern white males who identify themselves with the Republican Party cumulatively don’t believe a word that comes out of Obama’s mouth on anything and the result is so profound as to skew the polling.
For example MSNBC led off in their online version with this headline: Americans still skeptical about Obama’s plans Well no wonder, because a substantial part of the American population has been conditioned in such a way that they will and mostly have accept each and everyone of the talking points below the fold as pure, unadulterated truth.
Because ohmigosh, I heard it on Twitter, it must be true. I don’t know what we can so about this, starting with Shook’s takedown is a good start, but in the end there seems no way to cut through the tweet, it’s gone viral. List below the fold (hopefully, my browser doesn’t show the break, if yours doesn’t sorry for all the screen room).
Page after Page of Reasons to Hate ObamaCare What follows careens between claims that are simply ridiculous to ones that are just false to ones that are somewhat plausible but wrong to misreadings to half-truths. Some of the claims may actually be true, just seen through a lens that hates anything which hints at Socialism. But be that as it may the next wingnut you run into will have heard some or all of these on Rush or the Dori Monson show and will believe every word of it. In light of this it is follow to try to craft any kind of bargain with the Repubicans, their constituents would see any ‘Yes’ vote on anything as a treasonous betryal.
Here are just a few very good reasons to hate ObamaCare:
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-U.S. citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No “judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll.
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll.
• Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it really says that.• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.”
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you’ll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on “community” input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.
Note they are just under halfway through the bill here. I am assuming the page numbers correspond to the original Tri-Committee bill, a version of which is here: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf (1.8 MB file). Please address individual claims from either the pro or con perspective in comments, but personally I am thinking it is like pushing back the tide of crazy. A tide coming our way at a 140 characters at a time.