CBO: Dem's Health Care Plan Costs $1 Trillion, Leaves 36 Million Uninsured, Forces 23 Million Out of Their Current Plans

Yesterday’s Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on a Democratic health care “reform” bill has sent shockwaves through Washington – and middle-class families, small businesses, and all taxpayers are right to take notice. Here’s what CBO has uncovered:

The Democratic plan will cost taxpayers at least $1 trillion;
The legislation will leave at least 36 million Americans uninsured; and
The proposal will force at least 23 million Americans to give up the health coverage they currently enjoy.

This is reform?

House Republicans are working on a better solution to ensure that every American has access to affordable health care. To that end, tomorrow, the House GOP’s Health Care Reform Solutions Group will outline a common-sense plan to reduce costs, expand access, and increase the quality of care in a way that Americans can afford. The GOP plan will:

Expand access to affordable, quality care regardless of pre-existing conditions;
Protect Americans from being forced into a government-run plan, making certain that medical decisions are made by patients and their doctors, not Washington bureaucrats; and
Let Americans who like their health care coverage keep it, while giving all Americans the freedom to choose the plan that best meets their needs.

With the Democratic and GOP plans now coming into clearer focus, middle-class families and small businesses across the country are beginning to ask: is a $1 trillion government takeover of health care really worth it if it leaves at least 36 million Americans uninsured and forces at least 23 million Americans off their current plans? Or, is the better solution a proposal that will expand access to affordable care while protecting Americans’ relationships with their doctors? That choice will become increasingly evident in the weeks to come, as Democrats in charge of Washington continue pushing their costly plan onto Americans who just don’t support it.

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Oxendine: Where are the Tax Cuts in this Economy?

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine today questioned whether government will continue to worsen the pain of the citizens of our nation as politicians fail to embrace the principles that would jump-start this economy such as significant tax cuts.

"All I see elected officials doing is more of the same. Inflicting more grief on our hard-working citizens," Oxendine said. "If they truly understood sound economic principles as did Ronald Reagan and even Democrat John Kennedy, they would stumble over each other to significantly cut taxes. That's how you turn around an economy."

Oxendine pointed to the $790 billion so-called stimulus plan in Congress, a pork-laden spending measure he said will add to our nation's debt and potentially spark inflation in the near future.

"We also don't need to indebt future generations to pay the price for our government's mistakes and its lack of discipline when it comes to taking a knife to spending," Oxendine said.

"This so-called stimulus package is an invitation to expand social spending in our state government, irresponsible temporary solutions to serious issues, and larger state budgets," he said. "Instead of the current "Porkulus Bill," I urge the President and Congress to take steps that support small businesses across America and Georgia. Allow for the tax deduction for a new small business startup cost to double, to $10,000 from its current $5,000. Many people being laid off will be starting small businesses and this action is real stimulus right now," said Oxendine.

Here in Georgia, Oxendine said he is concerned Georgia's 1.7 million homeowners, farmers, and small business owners will see a tax increase later this year. That amount could be even greater if Governor Perdue vetoes legislation passed dealing with property tax relief since the bill made sure homeowners did not have to cover a shortfall in state revenues for this year's budget. If the governor does veto the bill, homeowners would not only have higher property tax bills later this year, but could also receive an additional tax bill of $300 to cover a shortfall for their last year's property tax bills.

"The party of less taxes and less government should get this one basic concept," Oxendine said. "In this tough, tough economy, when layoffs are happening every day, you absolutely do not ask taxpayers to pony up more money to fund government. You cut spending, period. You only fund services that are required by the Constitution. And we all know we have many services that aren't what the founders of this nation or this state envisioned taxpayers to be paying for."

"It is unfair for state officials to posture themselves as being a friend to counties, cities, and school boards when they are passing along unfunded mandates from Washington and the state Capitol," Oxendine said. "Our county commissioners, mayors and city council members are good people who deserve a state government that is a partner not an obstacle to local control."

John Oxendine
Oxendine for Governor 2010

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Tax Hike for Trauma Care a Hard Sell, Says Senator

A tax hike to boost trauma network funding would find little public support, a state senator said in late October during a forum on Georgia’s trauma care system.

While lawmakers last year debated a $10 increase in car tag fees to pump money into Georgia’s network of hospitals providing trauma care, that proposal failed to pass. The Legislature did, however, give the state trauma commission a one-time allotment of $58 million to distribute.

With health advocates saying a permanent funding solution is needed, a number of proposals have emerged, including hikes in taxes paid on insurance premiums and motor vehicles. But a tax increase should be the last resort, said Sen. Preston Smith (R-Rome).

“On most of the examples given to you today on the screen, there were two words beside each of the bullets and those words were ‘tax increase’ and that’s going to be a very difficult sell regardless of the merits of the argument for which you’re making the case,” Smith said during the forum at Georgia State University. “It is very difficult to turn back to the tax payers and say ‘This is an important need and we want you to bear more of the burden to provide [for] that need.’”

The forum, hosted by the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies with support from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, was held to explore ways to fund the state’s trauma network, distribute the money fairly and make hospitals and healthcare providers accountable for the dollars spent. It was the third such forum the school has hosted this year.

Panelists included state Rep. Mickey Channell (R-Greensboro); Jim Craig, director of Health Protection for the Mississippi Department of Health; Gov. Sonny Perdue’s policy director Hanna Heck; and Georgia State associate economics professor Jim Marton and associate professor of health administration Patricia Ketsche.

Ketsche and Marton presented a report prepared by the Andrew Young School’s Fiscal Research Center which recommended a flat tag fee of $14 per vehicle, noting the fee would generate more than $100 million a year, a figure some say might be necessary. The report, prepared by economists Peter Bluestone and Robert Buschman, acknowledged however that the fee might not keep up with the rising cost of care over time.

The second-best funding mechanism would be an increase in the car tax rate. The least-preferred method, based on factors like revenue growth, how many people would be expected to pay in, impact on consumer behavior and ease of collection, would be surcharges on traffic tickets, the report said.

Smith said a number of possible funding mechanisms should be explored, including an idea to use money generated from tickets written by the Georgia State Patrol, which has always gone directly to the jurisdiction in which the violation occurred.

“There is a tremendous amount of revenue being generated for the benefit of locals, none of which goes to trauma care,” Smith said.

The trauma network in Mississippi, Craig said, is funded by a combination of fees on tickets for moving violations, DUIs and speeding, an increase in car tag taxes and other sources, including a fee on the purchase of all-terrain vehicles.

Craig said the state also requires hospitals to participate in the system to their full capability or face substantial fines.

Channell, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on healthcare, said he was open to the idea of exploring mandatory participation.

“I think that we need, potentially, to look at reorganizing or organizing in a different fashion,” he said.

Heck, Perdue’s policy director, said the governor has concerns about dedicating new funding streams that bypass legislative review.

“By the very nature of going through the legislative appropriations process, we subject those funds to review, and say ‘are they being used in the right manner for Georgia? … Are they providing value?’”

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Announcing a Proposed Property Tax Increase for Atlanta Residents

The Council Members of the City of Atlanta have tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 19.97 percent over the rollback millage rate.

Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the
assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property
in the county. When the trend of prices on properties that
have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an
increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the
board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the
value of such property and adjust the assessment. This is
called reassessment.

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

The budget tentatively adopted by the Council Members of the City of Atlanta requires that a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate, therefore, before the Council Members of the City of Atlanta may finalize the tentative budget and set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held in the City Council Chambers, 55 Trinity Avenue S.W., Atlanta, GA 30303 on June 16, 2008 at 6:00pm and on June 23, 2008 at 12:00pm and 6:00pm.