More on Health Care

So I think more information has come out about the new Obama Care, and I wanted to share some opinions about what I like and dislike. Here's part of a news article:

House Democrats on Tuesday rolled out a far-reaching $1.5 trillion plan that for the first time would make health care a right and a responsibility for all Americans, with medical providers, employers and the wealthiest picking up most of the tab.
The federal government would be responsible for ensuring that every person, regardless of income or the state of their health, has access to an affordable insurance plan. Individuals and employers would have new obligations to get coverage, or face hefty penalties.
Health care overhaul is President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, and his goal is to slow rising costs and provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans. Democratic leaders said they would push the measure through committee and toward a vote in the full House by month's end, while the pace of activity quickened on the other side of the Capitol.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wanted floor debate to begin a week from Monday. Other officials said that timetable was likely to slip. Even so, it underscored a renewed sense of urgency.
The House legislation unveiled by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats would slow the growth of Medicare and Medicaid payments to medical providers. From big hospitals to solo physician practices, providers also would be held to account for quality care, not just ordering up tests and procedures. Insurance companies would be prohibited from denying coverage to the sick. The industry also would face stiff competition from a new government plan designed along the lines of Medicare.
The liberal-leaning plan lacked figures on total costs, but a House Democratic aide said the total bill would add up to about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private calculations.
The legislation calls for a 5.4 percent tax increase on individuals making more than $1 million a year, with a gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages with an exemption for small businesses. Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan.
House leaders want to move quicklyWith Obama pressing Congress to act on health care this summer, House leaders want to move their bill quickly through three committees and to a floor vote before the August congressional recess. But a group of moderate and conservative Democrats has withheld support, and no Republican votes are expected. The House bill seemed unlikely to win broad backing in the Senate.
The House bill seemed unlikely to win broad backing in the Senate, where the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was expected to finish its version of the legislation Wednesday in what was looking to be a party-line vote. Another panel, the Senate Finance Committee, was striving to unveil a bill by the end of the week. But the outlook in the Senate remained uncertain.
Standing before a banner that read "Quality Affordable Care for the Middle Class," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the moment "historic and transformative." The bill would provide "stability and peace of mind" by braking costs and guaranteeing coverage, she said.
"We are going to accomplish what many people felt wouldn't happen in our lifetime," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., one of the main sponsors. Obama issued a statement hailing the measure.
Speaking in Warren, Mich., where he was promoting new spending for community colleges, Obama anticipated a congressional confrontation over health care.
"There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks," he said, deviating from his prepared text. "And don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you saying we can't change the health care system.We have no choice but to change the health care system because right now it's broken for too many Americans."
Separately, Obama spoke by telephone with Sen. Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican viewed as critical to the fate of bipartisan negotiations in the Senate.
Democrats said the income tax increase would apply only to the top 1.2 percent of households, those who earn about one-quarter of all income. The wealthiest 4 percent of small business owners would be among them. The tax would start at 1 percent for couples making $350,000 and individuals earning $280,000, ramp up to 1.5 percent above $500,000 of income, and jump to 5.4 percent for those earning above $1 million.
The tax would raise an estimated $544 billion over 10 years.

Things I like: Health care does need to be changed, and it's been largely ignored for a very long time. I have heard a lot of horror stories about people who could not afford coverage and then had some medical condition or accident hit them and they had no choice but to file for bankruptcy. So I applaud the democrats for taking on the issue. I also like how the new system will be a lot like that of France's with a couple of differences. In France everybody pays 10% and everyone is insured by the federal government to a basic level with option to purchase additional private health insurance. In this system only the rich pays for it. My feeling would be to tax some behaviors that lead to health problems much like the tobacco tax, say a junk food tax. I believe that would raise far more money than just taxing the rich and also place the burden more on the shoulders of the people that would benefit from the new system. I also like how people with preexisting conditions will now be able to get coverage.

Things I don't like: I don't feel very good about enforcing a penalty tax of $1,000 a year on people who elect not to get coverage. I don't like placing almost the entire burden of the poor's health care just on the wealthy. I don't like how fast they want to shove this through the system. I don't know about spending even more money during a recession. And I'm sure a lot of you have a lot more objections than that. And I'd like to hear about them. And if you can think of any positives at all I'd like to hear those too.