Monday, October 26, 2009

Still no final healthcare bill

"Businesses would not be required to provide health insurance under legislation being readied for Senate debate, but large firms would owe significant penalties if any worker needed government subsidies to buy coverage on their own, according to Democratic officials familiar with talks on the bill. For firms with more than 50 employees, the fee could be as high as $750 multiplied by the total size of the work force if only a few workers needed federal aid, these officials said. That is a more stringent penalty than in a bill that recently cleared the Senate Finance Committee, which said companies should face penalties on a per-employee basis. These officials also said individuals would generally be required to purchase affordable insurance if it were available, and face penalties if they defied the requirement. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity . . ."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091025/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul

It's hard to be in favor of the proposed healthcare legislation when there is as yet no proposed heathcare legislation to support or oppose, merely several conflicting concepts.

And, contrary to the promises, everything's being hammered out behind closed doors by a handful of insiders and lobbyists who release information only "on condition of anonymity". So much for open discussion and debate.

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