President Obama
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Av NW
Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr.President:

Earlier this year you said:

No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period.
When I saw that promise, it seemed a lot of people did not believe you.

Last year, during the election campaign, you promised not to raise taxes on low-income people.

I downloaded the full text of your health care bill, HR3200, and looked at it very closely.
Please help me to see how it does not break one or both of those two promises.

My personal income is well below the Federal poverty level, one of those unintended consequences of whistle-blower laws. Last year I paid $0 in Federal and state income tax. Despite my continuing and best efforts to find employment, this year looks to be the same.

For most of my adult life -- including today -- I have had a very cost-effective and high-quality health care plan, which costs me about $20/month. I like my health care plan, it gets me better quality medical services at a lower cost than any insurance I ever looked at, but Section 59B(a) of HR3200 imposes a 2.5% tax on my income for the priviledge of keeping my health care plan. I looked at trying to get my self-insurance approved, but that also has a tax. If this were the law today, it appears I would have to pay over $800 in new taxes (instead of $0) -- IN ADDITION to my increasing health care costs due to age and the unintended consequences of your health care law. For example, the last time I saw a doctor it cost me half of what previous comparable services had cost, because this doctor refuses insurance payments. Your law will double his prices and/or put him out of business. I guess I don't get to keep my doctor under your proposed law either, do I?

Please say it ain't so. Section and paragraph number (or page and line number), please.

I will post this letter and your reply on my weblog.
 

Tom Pittman

cc:
  The Honorable Mike Honda
  United States House of Representatives
 
 

INSURANCE IS THE PROBLEM, NOT THE SOLUTION

Notes

$800 in new taxes -- It's a little unclear from the text, but it looks like this 2.5% tax applies not only to actual income, but also to items that are reported as income (but are not), such as IRA withdrawals -- including Roth IRA which is otherwise not taxable. This is not income, the tax has already been paid on it, and it isn't taxed as income -- except under Obama's new tax increase. Obviously I would have been smarter 40 years ago to ignore all the government lies about IRAs. If HR3200 becomes law, I think I will try to close out all my IRAs before the tax hits. The Senate version of ObamaCare came out after I wrote this letter. It increased the penalty tax to almost $1000, but spared people under the FPL.

Mike Honda -- Congressman Honda replied with a form letter, which did not address any of my objections to the bill. President Obama replied two months later, and also did not address any of my objections to the bill.