Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Taxpayers - Not Insurance Company Lobbyists

The following is a portion of a Letter to the Editor submitted to the Bergen Record by a member on New Jersey Tea Party Coalition refuting published comments blasting Congressman Scott Garrett's position on HR 3962 and Comments insulting concerned citizens.

I take great exception to begin called aged unpaid lobbyists for the insurance companies. I am a working taxpaying American Citizen very much against HR 3962. I traveled to Washington, DC last week to protest HR 3962. I took a day off from work, I forfeited a days pay. And I will do it again if I feel I need to.

HR 3962 is not about health care it is an assault on our freedom of choice and our liberties. I thought Democrats and the left were big advocates of freedom of choice.

Page 94-Section 202(c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government

Less than $500,000.00 in gross payroll is not a small business it is a micro business; more like a sole proprietor filing a schedule C. Any small business with one or two partners and several employees will easily exceed this limitation.

Page 297 - Section 501 imposes a 2.5 percent tax on all individuals who do not purchase "bureaucrat-approved" health insurance - the tax would apply on individuals with incomes under $250,000

What will be imposed on individuals earning over $250,000.00? And how long or when will they reduce this income level?

Page 313-Section 512 imposes an 8 percent "tax on jobs" for firms that cannot afford to purchase "bureaucrat-approved" health coverage; according to an analysis by Harvard Professor Kate Baicker, such a tax would place millions "at substantial risk of unemployment"-with minority workers losing their jobs at twice the rate of their white counterparts

We are back to the 8% tax. Employers are already taxed too high!

Page 336-Section 551 imposes additional job-killing taxes, in the form of a half-trillion dollar "surcharge," more than half of which will hit small businesses; according to a model developed by President Obama's senior economic advisor, such taxes could cost up to 5.5 million jobs

What are these additional taxes going to be? They are not yet telling us.

Page 520-Section 1161 cuts more than $150 billion from Medicare Advantage plans, potentially jeopardizing millions of seniors' existing coverage

We are supposed to take care of our seniors!

My company was facing an substantial increase in insurance premiums last year so we investigated our options as we do every year and we were successful in keeping our premiums constant, providing the same coverage and not increasing our employees out of pocket expenses. This bill will take those options those CHOICES out of our hands; we will be forced to participate in the 'bureaucrat-approved' plan and we will have no say in what the government charges us for this plan.

Well I like my choices and I do not like HR 3962. I will continue to fight and oppose this bill.

Submitted by PDR

Refuting An Attack On Rep. Scott Garrett

The following is a portion of a Letter to the Editor submitted to the Bergen Record by a member on New Jersey Tea Party Coalition refuting published comments blasting Congressman Scott Garrett's position on HR 3962.

Re: Letter of November 10th by Linda Cetta, Christian Science Committee "Scott Garrett Sends Screed"

Congressman Scott Garrett is my representative and I feel I must defend him against the misrepresentations presented in the letter by Ms.Cetta. Her letter is full of her own sentiments and are not reflective of what Rep. Garrett actually wrote to his constituents. In reality, he sent us exactly what was given to Members, staff and interested citizens to read regarding H.R. 3962

I am sitting with Congressman Garrett's letter in front of me--comparing what is in his letter and the one published in The Record by Linda Cetta.

Page 94 - Section 202 (c) prohibits the sale of private individual health insurance policies, beginning in 2013, forcing individuals to purchase coverage through the federal government. If Ms. Cetta does not believe Congressman Garrett, she can verify this information at numerous locations on the internet, like I did.

Ms. Cetta also states that on page 225, Scott Garrett asserted "members of Congress will be forced to purchase the public option." She then reiterated that, in reality, he did not say that but she thinks "they should be forced to go into the public option since the government-run health coverage that Garrett currently has is perhaps the best in the nation."

However, this is exactly what Congressman Scott Garrett stated regarding page 225:

"Section 330 permits, but does not require, members of Congress to enroll in government-run health plan, that according to non-partisan actuaries at the Lewin Group, would cause as many as 114 million Americans to lose their existing coverage."

I suggest that with the plethora of legitimate sites on the internet where you can verify information, it is wise to do so before stating inaccuracies that can be discredited by others.

With the political corruption that flourishes in NJ, we can consider ourselves fortunate to have Rep. Scott Garrett represent us.

Submitted by Peg