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4/28/2010
Business owners really, really ticked at Kagen
I suppose Rep. Kagen wasn’t following proper etiquette when he invited small businesses in northeast Wisconsin to “explore [the] benefits of [the] new health care law." The announcement came out last Thursday afternoon – I saw it via a Chamber e-mail Friday – for meetings at 7:30 AM Monday in Green Bay and that same morning at 10 in Appleton. Hardly time to fashion an RSVP, much less buy a new hat for the occasion.
Fox 11’s headline read “Small businesses unhappy with health care law, insurance costs.” Reporter Mark Leland wrote that “Kagen is finding some resistance to the new law. He says understanding the details has been a problem, but he maintains there’s something in it for everyone.” (I didn’t see anything from Gannett – in the Post-Crescent or Press Gazette – did anyone else see it?)
“Unhappy?" "Some resistance?” Are you kidding me? Dr. Kagen is completely missing the diagnosis, much less the cure.
Business owner (and former Town Chairman, Harrison) Allison Blackmer is quoted in the Fox11 piece:But the more Blackmer learns about the new health care insurance law, the more she gets angry.
“I am so sick of hearing that word transparent. This health care bill was not transparent," Blackmer blasted at Congressman Steve Kagen during a gathering of small business owners designed to highlight the benefits of the law.
"Premiums are going up this year you didn't fix a thing," she told the Congressman. Long-time licensed health insurance broker Chris Hanson (Hanson Benefits, Inc.) shared Blackmer’s anger.This legislation focuses on health insurance reform and taxes, not “healthcare” or the healthcare delivery system. They are two very different issues. By Kagen referring to this legislation as the “health security law,” he is even further confusing the public.
Congressman Kagen deflected every question, point or question, preferring to focus on his own “talking points”. I am tired of the rhetoric. I have attended enough sessions to observe that he has failed to listen THEN and NOW. Another attendee shared with me that he wished he had taken notes during the meeting, "but to be honest I was so dumbfounded/angry/appalled I could not even write.” Wow. Here are his reflections, after calming down a bit.Kagen has crossed the Rubicon. He's helpless. He's useless.
Some points from the meeting:
- "If you are keeping score, it's Kagen 3, Pelosi 0." That line drew groans. And laughter from a couple.
- CBO estimates are accurate according to Rep. Kagen. When pressed he just said, "we didn't cook the books". Uh huh. Right.
- They are creating a marketplace for healthcare. Creating a marketplace? Jeebus.
- Kept talking about transparency. WOW.
- People that attended - all 12 of us were very unhappy about the information about the meeting. I found out at 8:30am today and most people found out Friday afternoon. When we asked Craig [Moser, Kagen’s in-state “Constituent Services Director], he said, "It's in the paper today." Dumb.
- The good doctor was 25 minutes late for the meeting.
- "Your health relies on your neighbor's health". He talked of limiting body mass index. I kid you not.
I am objective (or at least try to be) - all I see from this man is arrogance and lies. He has gone from representing the 8th congressional district to just another hack politician who represents the Democratic Party. He has no interest in debate. I don't even think he believes what he says. Very contentious ... once again. Business owner Hanson said it best. “It is an election year… you and I will decide who will listen to us.”
Hear, hear.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Here is a taste of what we have to look forward to with this awesome new healthcare!!!!The new federal healthcare law will impact all Americans with threats of fines and unprecedented federal intervention in regulating the insurance industry, health professionals, and even the family. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the reconciliation bill are just a framework to be filled in as bureaucrats add regulations to the new law. There’s no smoking gun. It’s a cocked pistol that’ll be fired when the regulations come down, Most people apparently haven’t noticed the fact that this is a program to reach down into every home. Here’s the impact in brief: Doctors and Healthcare Professionals• Pay squeeze: Creates greater dependence upon shrinking government Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements. The bill does nothing to stop recent reimbursement cuts. • More regulations: Dozens of additional government forms and regulations to follow.Small Businesses (50 employees or more)• $2,000 per-employee fine: Companies will be fined for not offering health insurance by 2014. (Section 1513)• $3,000 fine: Employers must subsidize health insurance for employees who earn up to 400 percent of the poverty level. Employers who fail to do so will be fined $3,000 per incident. (Section 1513)• File more reports to the federal government: Companies must detail the coverage they offer. (Section 1514)• Menu nutritional labeling: All restaurants (not just those with at least 50 employees) and vending machines will have to provide nutritional information. (Section 4205)Insurers• Federal manipulation of the insurance market: Federal officials will “make recommendations, as appropriate, to the State Exchange about whether particular health insurance issuers should be excluded from participation in the Exchange based on a pattern or practice of excessive or unjustified premium increases.” (Section 2794)• Require government approval before increasing premiums: The law “shall require health insurance issuers to submit to the Secretary and the relevant State a justification for an unreasonable premium increase prior to the implementation of the increase.” (Section 1003)• Sets executive salaries: Determines maximum salary of $500,000 per year beginning in 2012. (Section 9014)Individuals and Families• Meddling in your home: Billions of dollars fund new programs for “home visitation” and other grant-created agencies designed to manage your and your children’s weight, eating habits, exercise routine, and other lifestyle habits — all in the name of controlling healthcare costs to the federal government.• Fine for noncompliance: By 2016, those who don’t purchase government-approved private health insurance will be assessed $750 on their income tax. (Section 5000A)• Higher private health insurance premiums: As the financial squeeze is put on doctors and insurers owing to losses on Medicare/Medicaid patients, the costs for other patients can be expected to rise. Should government respond by requiring below-market reimbursements for all patients, an exodus of qualified doctors will occur and rationing of healthcare services can be expected.• Medicare/Medicaid patients may have more trouble seeing the doctors of their choice: How can it be otherwise when doctors are forced to accept below-market reimbursements for Medicare/Medicaid patients?So ENJOY!!!! ...or fight it.
JOe (Wed Apr 28 08:38:36 2010)
It was pretty clear Monday morning that Allison and Chris are still "fighting" the legislation. Newsflash: It has already been passed. Now we are starting into the implementation phase and regulations and official guidance will be rolling out.
The credit for small businesses that are able to offer health insurance coverage is actually pretty nice. Of course it won't benefit everyone, no credit or tax break ever does. There is another nice credit for "new hires" which, again, only some businesses will be able to take advantage of.
Yes, I have to agree with Chris Hansen that what we got is essentially insurance reform due to the widespread abusive and greedy policy provisions and practices. Unofrtunately, fraud and greed continue to impact medical costs. Personnally, I believe that we need to seriously increase Medicare fraud enforcement by HHS.
JeanMarie (Wed Apr 28 10:18:58 2010)
"Hardly time to fashion an RSVP, much less buy a new hat for the occasion."
Nothing says 'I care what my constituents have to say' like allowing them time to prepare to spend the morning in a meeting .. and having that meeting while people are trying to work.
I wish I lived in the district so I could properly complain about the guy.
Brian Dunbar (Wed Apr 28 11:15:54 2010)
Britain fell for the Beveridge Fallacy, and enacted their version of what we have in the US. Needless to say, when I lived there, I was not impressed. I am hoping to be able to QUIT working in healthcare by the time Obamacare really gets rolling, as are others in my hospital.
How do they think there won't be major rationing, when we healthcare workers will quit in protest, potential new healthcare providers will think more than twice about going into such a risky profession, and everyone will be flooding the system with demands, so they "get theirs" before their neighbors do? The mentality of "I have it coming to me" already exists in many of the taxpayer-funded patients. It's human nature: "nasty, brutish..."
As to the ridiculous comment that "your health relies on your neigbor's health": when did he ever do a dictation that included the history and physical of the patient's neighbor or spouse? He knows he's lying!
emily matthews (Wed Apr 28 11:18:42 2010)
Adolf Hitler once said "The great mass of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one. What luck for rulers that men do not think."
Now, before I am accused of being a conspiracy theorist or falling into that cliche that parallels whomever holds office to the historic tryant, allow me to say that I make no claims to know Barack Obama or his specific personal motivations. What I am going to say isn't brand new - it's been going on for some time now.
What I DO know is that the strategies employed to win over "the masses" are textbook Marxist radicalism. What I do know is that socialism is brought about incrementally, leveraging a people's misfortune or desperation to create a system of graduated dependence.
I am of the opinion that the HealthCare bill was designed and enacted for one primary purpose - and it has nothing whatsoever to do with health care or insurance whatsoever. It is designed to provide a legal basis on which to build regulation directly aimed at controlling the individual; to provide a catalyst (in the form of financial destitution) for implementing and enforcing those regulations with as little resistance as possible; and to gather all the personal information necessary (access to and control of personal finances) to completely control every person's ability to get on in the world.
If this all seems incredible and unlikely, read the quote again. And if still you do not see this as a plausible reality (not a fact, just a plausible reality), then I can only say I hope you will spend lots of quality time with your family and friends, and place a special emphasis on raising your children to be solid, strong and hold to their convictions.
These are DEEPLY troubling times. I care less about going broke over a medical problem than I do a beguiling hand of darkness using my misfortune to solicit the sale of my freedom for but a brief and momentary respite from pain.
Andrew Ellis (Wed Apr 28 11:24:02 2010)
I'm a small business person (under 50 employees). And I think the law is good (not perfect). We small business people are not sheep, We each have different opinions. The Chamber doesn't speak for me by the way. I was wondering how long it took someone to mention Hitler or Marxism, there is kind of an internet theory about how long it takes someone to shout "hitler" in a debate. This must be a new record. And Emily, yes, we all know you lived in England for a while. Your personal experience has nothing to do with how England has since changed and the statistics which show how much a better system theirs, Germany's France's etc are than ours on the whole and dollar (or Pound or Euro) for dollar.
dave allen (Wed Apr 28 12:19:09 2010)
So Dave, because you have fewer than 50 employees, its 'OK" by you.
Too Bad my friend , for one of the first changes to be made will to drop that requirement to 10 people, and then eventually to only 1 !
Don't believe me ?
Look around Dave
Workmans Comp started as a big employer only demand.
The same applies to
Minimum wage, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
They also started on a large scale and then later "grew smaller" with such obscure creations as saying if you collected funds from a customers credit card meant you were involved in interstate commerece, and MUST therefore comply.
Ergo..You were involved.
Hope you enjoyed (past tense) your business Dave !
its not yours any more !
Rich Carlstedt (Wed Apr 28 13:52:19 2010)
THANKS Jo for all you do to keep us informed. It was nice to meet you at the yacht club. Gerry is a great friend & I appreciate him keeping me abreast of what's going on. Thanks.
Tom Schiltz (Wed Apr 28 22:27:56 2010)
Dave, perhaps Hitler's greatest legacy is making the believable just too unbelievable.
Sure, no one is capable of what he did. No one. And sure, there's no way anyone could possibly get away with it. Not again! Never again! People just aren't that dumb. That's why, in the past 40 years, 50 million innocent American children have been butchered in the name of convenience, in the name of eugenics, and in the name of a "sub-human" status - and we all drive to work every morning jolly as could be, because the truth really is just too unbelievable.
By the way, it's a good idea, when reading a piece of legislation, to consider it in the context of how it impacts the American people as a whole - not just how it impacts our personal lives and businesses. There's no doubt bailout legislation appealed to the likes of AIG - because how they affected AIG was all that mattered to them.
Andrew Ellis (Thu Apr 29 08:56:32 2010)
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