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OPINION — Democrats’ healthcare = horror for small businesses I’ve downloaded the healthcare reform act known as HR 3200. I’ve read the first 170 pages of the 1,017-page bill (probably about 170 pages more than most members of Congress). My initial impression: God save us from Democrats. Unlike many pieces of legislation, this bill is worse even than its opponents are depicting it. I will read it in its entirety over the course of the next few posts, and I will report to you what this bill looks like to this part owner of a small business of under 20 employees. So far the big criticisms against the bill have been mainly philosophical and ideological in nature. I’ve published a lot of letters and opinion columns by various private citizens and public commentators on pros and cons of the healthcare legislation now before the Congress. This series of online postings will get down to how the plain wording will affect you and me, the tax-paying “mob,” as we are described by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Just from the first 16 percent of its verbiage, I can see this will be a bloody disaster of the first magnitude for every small business in America and for the employees of those small businesses. Let’s take it page by page, line by line: The bill creates a “Health Choices Commissioner.” Call her a commissar, because this person will have more power over your life than you can currently imagine. There will be a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to advise the commissar which “shall be composed of the following members, in addition to the Surgeon General: “(A) 9 members who are not federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the President. “(B) 9 members who are not federal employees or officers and who are appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States ... “(C) Such even number of members (not to exceed 8) who are federal employees and officers, as the President may appoint.” Here’s who will be on that committee: “The membership of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall at least reflect providers, consumer representatives, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant governmental agencies and at least one practicing physician or other health professional and an expert on children’s health and shall represent a balance among various sectors of the health care system so that no single sector unduly influences the recommendations of such Committee.” Catch this: “At least one practicing physician.” Gee, at least one doctor. But “experts” — plural, you notice — “in racial and ethnic disparities.” Rev. Al finally will have a real job. Together, all of them will come up with specific standards that all insurers must meet in order to be designated a “Qualified Health Benefits Plans (QHBP)” provider and be part of the government-mandated “Health Insurance Exchange.” In Section 132, the Commissar will determine “uniform marketing standards that all insured QHBP shall meet.” That reads plainly that the Commissar will dictate what gets advertised and what doesn’t. Welcome to government control of marketing. That is one scary section for anybody who believes the 1st Amendment is still relevant. A further measure of control: “A QHBP offering entity is required to comply with standards for electronic financial and administrative transactions” set by the feds. Down to what software a doctor’s billing office must use, the Commissar will rule. Can you imagine the new government-required forms that one rule alone will require to be generated and filed on a strict bureaucratic schedule? And nobody escapes. The Commissar “shall undertake activities in accordance with this subtitle to promote accountability of QHBP offering entities in meeting federal health insurance requirements, regardless of whether such accountability is with respect to qualified health benefits plans offered through the Health Insurance Exchange or outside of such Exchange.” No opting out of that onerous new avalanche of federal reporting requirements for businesses to pay for. And that doesn’t even cover the penalties for even unintended mistakes. Perhaps the scariest of all about this government takeover of all facets of healthcare is the creation of what I call a “super IRS.” The Commissar “shall, in coordination with states, conduct audits of qualified health benefits plan compliance with federal requirements. Such audits may include random compliance audits and targeted audits in response to complaints or other suspected non-compliance.” And the audited business will be forced to pay for the privilege of undergoing the audit. The Commissar “is authorized to recoup from qualified health benefits plans reimbursement for the costs of such examinations and audit of such QHBP offering entities.” Even the feared IRS doesn’t present you with a bill for the hours their agents spend searching your books. Isn’t that kind of like being forced to pay the rapist for the privilege of being ravished? So far, most of the bill is about the big boys, the big, bad insurance companies. Now all of a sudden, it gets personal — for every manager, every small business owner. Section 153 offers federal protection to any employee who reports the small business to the feds for ... anything: “... information relating to any violation of, or any act or omission the employee reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of this Act or any order, rule, or regulation promulgated under this Act ... or objected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the employee (or other such person) reasonably believed to be in violation of any provision of this Act or any order, rule, or regulation promulgated under this Act.” Ms. Small Business Owner, under this House bill, that disgruntled employee can make his grievance against you a literal federal case that will bring down a world of hurt on you and your business, whether you make a real mistake or whether the disgruntled employee simply thinks you did. “An employee covered by this section who alleges discrimination by an employer in violation of subsection (a) may bring an action governed by the rules, procedures, legal burdens of proof, and remedies set forth in section 40(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2087(b)).” Think you are too small to be noticed by the feds? Not any more. We’ve just reached Page 53 of the bill authored by “Mr. Dingell ... Mr. Rangel, Mr. Waxman, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Stark, Mr. Pallone, And Mr. Andrews” — our friendly Democrat Big Brothers. There are 964 more pages of federal-mandated horror for small businesses to follow in subsequent postings. — Posted 12:35 a.m., Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. login to post comments | Cal Beverly's blog
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