anyone else think this is a bit over complicated:

Subtitle B—Public Health
6 Insurance Option
7 SEC. 321. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF A
8 PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION AS AN
9 EXCHANGE-QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS
10 PLAN.
11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For years beginning with Y1,
12 the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this sub13
title referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall provide for the
14 offering of an Exchange-participating health benefits plan
15 (in this division referred to as the ‘‘public health insurance
16 option’’) that ensures choice, competition, and stability of
17 affordable, high quality coverage throughout the United
18 States in accordance with this subtitle. In designing the
19 option, the Secretary’s primary responsibility is to create
20 a low-cost plan without compromising quality or access to
21 care.
22 (b) OFFERING AS AN EXCHANGE-PARTICIPATING
23 HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN.—
24 (1) EXCLUSIVE TO THE EXCHANGE.—The pub25
lic health insurance option shall only be made avail26
able through the Health Insurance Exchange.
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October 29, 2009 (10:05 a.m.)
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f:\VHLC\102909\102909.022.xml (453769|4)
212
1 (2) ENSURING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD.—Con2
sistent with this subtitle, the public health insurance
3 option shall comply with requirements that are ap4
plicable under this title to an Exchange-participating
5 health benefits plan, including requirements related
6 to benefits, benefit levels, provider networks, notices,
7 consumer protections, and cost-sharing.
8 (3) PROVISION OF BENEFIT LEVELS.—The pub9
lic health insurance option—
10 (A) shall offer basic, enhanced, and pre11
mium plans; and
12 (B) may offer premium-plus plans.


a "health insurance exchange", and basic, enhanced, and premium" plans??

maybe i just don't understand what the fuck i'm reading but, the whole things just seems way over complicated. i mean, if they were going to do a real public option, why not just say "medicare if you want it, the end."?

page after page and my brain just doesn't understand. to me, it's almost like the more there is to this bill the more they leave themselves open for insurance companies to find loopholes.

again, i could be wrong. it just seems kind of ridiculous.

i am still hoping that they get things worked out and everyone would have access to a real public option, but this tiered system just sounds too much like insurance company bullshit to me.

admittedly, i'm no expert, but this whole thing so far doesn't make any rational sense.


:shrug:

pg 216

13 (3) NO BAILOUTS.—In no case shall the public
14 health insurance option receive any Federal funds
15 for purposes of insolvency in any manner similar to
16 the manner in which entities receive Federal funding
17 under the Troubled Assets Relief Program of the
18 Secretary of the Treasury.

wow.

so coporations have more access to taxpayer dollars than an entity designed to provide healthcare to the taxpayers themselves??

And these fucking parasites we have elected know what their priorities are.

Full text at: http://johnconyers.com/hr676text

The gist of it:

understanding this crap is why people need to spend several years in law school. It's a handy way to make sure nobody else can understand it.

It's also a byproduct of the way we write laws. There are thousands of people involved in the writing of a complex law and everyone of them is going to make damned sure they leave their fingerprints on it. From the elected representative from nowhere KS to the third aide in charge of paperclips to the representative from farout ME.

it's making it sound like the individual requirements to qualify for the PO would be the same for medicaid.

i could be wrong. that's how it sounds though.

they should have a "spell it out for me" version they release simultaneously.

prevent loopholes. I'm not saying there's none in there, but one of the first things any good lawyer does when looking for a loophole is to find things that AREN'T MENTIONED! Their explaination is "We did it because the law doesn't say we can't!"

All bills are very hard to read because of the legalese in which they are written. There was a Dem on the Senate Finance Committee who said exactly that. "Do you actually believe the avg. person will understand something like this when it's posted online?" I don't remember who it was but I was watching the hearing at the time.

Because as much as they believe that Americans are all stupid they're fucking wrong.

to sit and concentrate. I get a headache and agita in about 15 minutes tops of reading.

SEC. 330. ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE
2 OPTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
3 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
4 Members of Congress may enroll in the public health in5
surance option.

this thing keeps getting weirder and weirder...

Why do people help kill legislation by buying into the right's stupidity.

Of course legislation is complicated. They're writing laws that have to be implemented and enforced fairly. They have to consider all the unforeseen misinterpretations and attempts to claim the legislation is unConstitutional in some form or other.

People complain about the country being dumbed down, and then turn around and demand it get even dumber.

No Billy Bob, you can't understand the legislation. That's why you elect smart people to go to Washington.

have you even looked at this thing yet??

i still can't narrow down the specific requirements for individual enrollment into the PO. it sounds like medicaid-like requirements, but i can't tell.

i'm not asking for it to be dumbed down. but a list of black and white qualifications would have seemed almost common sense. they didn't have a problem with spelling it out when they were explaining that the PO can't receive bailout funds.

that was pretty cut and dry black and white.

why not do the same for individual requirements for eligibility?