I will of course with the following comments upset a number of Ohio people, but if the stupid fits......wear it.

After suffering under that crook Taft who seemed to have a way of loosing investment money, they tossed off the best GOP candidate to who was honest for the current communist in office.

You have to understand Ohio people though. They are all the offspring of massive wages, massive real estate inflationary wealth, massive union influence and massive motor and defense contracts keeping ole pops around bleeding the nation dry in benefits. They are allot like Minnesotans in being too engulfed in their own dimentia to know anything besides 3 year old me me me exists.

They are a doper, redneck, ghetto and leftist ilk coupled with a very well to do millionaire class which gets you an Ohio brain on drugs between Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde.

I once in a discussion had a woman inform me how great Bill Clinton was at passing legislation (she had been informed of this by her ditzy clan) and was astounded to speechless when told that Bill Clinton passed ALL Republican bills which dealt with Newt's Contract with America.

Ohio people are what came out of the trailer class, got nifty jobs, lost nifty jobs, but have been living on Gramp's wealth as they drive their state into ruin.

So enter the Democrat Governor with all the suckling oinker answers in health care..........having the answers, because Hillary has hinted to him if makes Ohio into a communist state she or Al Gore will make him Vice President......and like a panting dog Gov. Poodle is in the process to implementing the Arkansas health plan.

Now of course Ohio people are too busy with dope, football and acting like moral people in public to be bothered with a little thing like they are signing away themselves into eternal slavery in trying to pay for this.

I would point out what do you think is going to happen when real estate markets have no more people who can afford 10 grande an acre farmland.....the entire system will collapse into a state owned provision of housing for people working for health care.

So throw down Ohio people who take offense at the above comments that you are stupid people.......what is the definition of a people who enslave themselves by charging themselves the bill of sale............blacks never even did that in slavery. They at least had to be rounded up by other blacks and sold.

That though is communist Ohio spelled now with two zeroes for lack of intelligence.

Hike!

*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS

You don't think age can account for a difference in spending of a thousand-odd dollars per person? Accoding to HHS, healthcare costs in the last year of life account for 28% of total Medicare spending. That's huge! Between the year people die and five years before that, their healthcare costs rise TEN FOLD. Given that 75% of those 65 and older rely on Medicare to cover their healthcare costs, I think that could more than make up for an 18% difference between private and government health coverage.

It's not just Ohio. Wisconsin projects their new "free health care" program will cost $15 billion a year... $3 billion more than the state currently collects in all income, sales and corporate income taxes. At $15 billion per state, that costs $750 billion per year for the whole country, which is just a tad more than Hilary's estimate of $100 or so billion.

"The ultimate Democrat constituent would be a public schoolteacher on welfare who needed an abortion and was suing her doctor."

Ann Coulter

Thank you for another excellent article Tom. 

Ohio HB 186, the Ohio Health Care Plan which calls for a single payer universal health care plan for all Ohioans, has had a deliberate low key introduction.  Media coverage has been scant and non-investigatory.  The entire profile of this bill has been essentially via grassroots promotion though at a statewide level. 

Out of approximately 150 google hits I can not find a single sceptical or even questioning website.  Every website is either governmental (detailing the plan or discussing it's flow through the halls of government) or is very supportive (plenty using the word "Progressive" in their title or descriptions).  But there are several sites that mention health insurance companies and Right Wingers as the big bad wolves, though without any specifics. 

There was a link to SPAN's (Single Payer Action Network) website concerning myths against HB 186 but it was "404" not available.  (Would you call that the myth of the myths?)  The thrust of SPAN is to create a single payer insurance network which would obviate the need for multiple private insurer forms and, ultimately, the private insurers themselves. 

So how would this plan be funded?  On the backs of businesses and people earning greater than $97K.  It is not explained why someone making $98K has to pay extra, though I would imagine one might save money by asking for a pay cut.  (Thank you Communists)  Here's the skinny on the proposed funding sources:

Federal financial participation
(secs. 3922.31, 3922.32, and 3922.33)
Under the bill, at the request of the Ohio Health Care Board the Ohio Health Care Agency's Executive Director must seek federal financial participation in the Ohio Health Care Plan, including funding otherwise available under Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.  The Executive Director is directed to request that the amount of the federal financial participation be at least equal to the Medicaid federal financial participation rate in effect for Ohio on the bill's effective date.

Funding sources and budget
(secs. 3922.21 to 3922.28)
Funding
Under the bill, funding of the Ohio Health Care Plan is obtained from the following sources:
(1) Funds made available to the Ohio Health Care Plan pursuant to sections 3922.31 to 3922.33 of the Revised Code (see "Federal Financial Participation, above);
(2) Funds obtained from other federal, state, and local governmental sources and programs;
(3) Receipts from taxes levied on employers' payrolls, paid by the employers;
(4) Receipts from taxes levied on businesses' gross receipts.  The tax rate in the first year may not exceed 3% of gross receipts;
(5) Receipts from additional income taxes, equal to 6.2% of an individual's compensation in excess of the amount subject to the Social Security payroll tax;
(6) Receipts from additional income taxes, equal to 5% of all of an individual's Ohio adjusted gross income, less the exemptions allowed under section 5747.025 of Ohio's Income Tax Law, in excess of $200,000.

 System budget
Under the bill, the system budget encompasses the cost of the system, the services and benefits provided, administration, data gathering, planning and other activities, and revenues deposited with the system account of the Ohio Health Care Fund.  The Ohio Health Care Board must limit administrative costs to 5% of the system budget and must annually evaluate methods designed to reduce administrative costs and report the results of that evaluation to the General Assembly.  The Ohio Health Care Board must limit the growth of health care costs in the system budget by reference to changes in Ohio's gross domestic product, population, employment rates, and other demographic indicators, as appropriate.  Money in the Ohio Health Care Fund's reserve account is not available as revenue for purposes of preparing the system budget.
The cost control measures implemented by the Ohio Health Care Board under this section may not limit access to care that is needed on an emergency basis or that is determined by a patient's provider to be medically appropriate considering the patient's condition.
Under the bill, mandatory cost control measures may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Postponement of the introduction of new benefits or benefit improvements;
(2) Postponement of new capital investment;
(3) Adjustment of provider budgets to correct for inappropriate provider utilization;
(4) Establishment of a limit on provider reimbursement above a specified amount of aggregate billing;
(5) Deferred funding of the reserve account;
(6) Establishment of a limit on aggregate reimbursements to pharmaceutical manufacturers;
(7) Imposition of an eligibility waiting period in the event of substantial influx of individuals into Ohio for the purpose of obtaining health care from the Ohio Health Care Plan.

Facility and provider budgets
The annual facility and provider budgets must include adjustments to reflect changes in the utilization of services and the addition or exclusion of covered services made by the Ohio Health Care Board upon the recommendation of the Technical and Medical Advisory Board.
Providers and facilities are required under the bill to choose whether they are to be compensated as fee-for-service providers or as part of a capitated provider network.  The Ohio Health Care Board is required to negotiate fee-for-service reimbursement rates or salaries for licensed providers.  In the event negotiations are not concluded in a timely manner, the Board establishes the reimbursement rates on its own.  The reimbursement rates must reflect the goals of the system. 

All facilities, group practices, and integrated health care systems must submit annual operating budget requests to the Ohio Health Care Board and may choose to be reimbursed through a global facility budget or on a capitated basis.  The Ohio Health Care Board is required to adjust the budgets on the basis of the health risk of enrollees; the scope of services provided; proposed innovative programs that improve quality, workplace safety, or consumer, provider, or employee satisfaction; costs of providing care for nonmembers; and an appropriate operating margin.

Gov. Strickland's plan merely shifts the costs from multiple private entities to the beauracracy of the State.  In fact, Medicare and Medicaid are administered by (middlemen) private insurance companies because the federal government figured out the public sector sucked when it came to keeping costs down.  (The government's proclamation that they have very low adminstration costs for CMMS is due to the fact they don't include the cost paid to private insurers to handle the lion's share of work)  Now Ohio politicians, primarily those "progressive" ones, think they can do a better job.  Usually I would say "Go get 'em tiger," but this will be my and my family's money they want to experiment on. 

Maybe it could work.  Maybe not.  I want a LOT of sunshine and debate on this plan prior to any vote.

Killing them with kindness isn't working.  Time to get scrappy with the Donkeys.

This phrase, "Receipts from taxes levied on employers' payrolls, paid by the employers," has always just pissed me off.  Employers don't pay payroll taxes, employees do.  If you are not employed, your employer has no reason to pay any payroll taxes.  From the employers point of view, any costs associated with an employee becomes part of the total compensation package.  Most employers figure that "benefits" cost them a third more than direct compensation.

So, what does this mean to you, the employee?

Any increase in the total compensation, no matter from what source, is going to cause the employer to look for ways to scale down his total work force, cease hiring new employees, or simply fire enough employees to bring costs in line with revenue in the industry that the company operates in.

This is no different than the government setting and then periodically raise the minimum wage.  That is a sure way to cause unemployement in the list skilled.

Given the dynamic nature of employement - that's double speak for if you, the employee, cost too much your company will just hire someone from India or move their operations to China.  Either way, you lose.

Think about how much healthe care you can afford when your unemployed?

Anyone for voting the conservatives back in next year, yet?

delete.