By Karen Awad

The health care issue here in the United States has no doubt precipitated a lot of debate. However, the reasons for debate vary widely. I think most of the debate is based on lies and fear put out to the public by the Republican Party and the Fox TV channel.

It’s enough to have a serious debate based on knowledge, education and intelligence. What is exasperating is that along with the paying attention and learning the truth, we have the constant barrage of lies and fear tactics we need to disseminate.

I take great deference with Mike Horner’s views in the News-Gazette April 22. I like Mike but I feel he’s misleading you – the public, like many of his Republican counterparts.  

For instance, he states that Floridians will be forced into a system against their will or face “fines and imprisonment.” Why Mr. Horner would focus on the negative rather than the positive is beyond me, as this attitude is not a fair representation of the people.  

First, there is no “imprisonment” even mentioned in the bill. Period. End of story. No imprisonment. That is a complete fallacy and false statement but one proffered by the Republican Party.

As for the “fines,” there is a provision to go into effect in 2013. It reads: SHARED RESPONSIBILITY PAYMENT. – ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL. – If an applicable individual fails to meet the requirement of subsection (a) for 1 or more months during any calendar year beginning after 2013…there is hereby imposed a penalty with respect to the individual in the amount determined under subsection (c).”

That penalty/fee will be no more than $750 per person who does not have health insurance, up to a maximum of $2,250 per household or 2 percent of household income, whichever is greater. What this means is that if through all the alternatives offered you as a family or person, with the insurance exchanges or through your employer or even private personal insurance you are unable to find a policy you can live with financially, you opt not to buy, the IRS will put you into a different category at income tax filing time and you will be paying a little more in taxes to offset your use of the medical community.  But it’s important to remember You have the Choice.

• What if I can’t afford health insurance? The bill creates a system of tax credits available to households that are between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. (Currently, that’s between $22,050 and $88,200 for a family of four.) The credits are based on a sliding scale based on income. For example, households with incomes between 133 and 150 percent of the federal poverty level (or between $29,326 and $33,075) would pay between 3 and 4 percent of their income for health insurance premiums (or between $879 and $1,323) each year. People will not be required to get coverage if the cheapest plan available costs more than 8 percent of their income.

• In addition, the bill fills in the donut hole for senior medications. And you will no longer have a cap on medical expenditures through your plan.

Small business:

• The tax credit, which is effective immediately, can cover up to 35 percent of the premiums a small business pays to cover its workers. In 2014, the rate will increase to 50 percent.

• The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the tax credit will save small businesses $40 billion by 2019. This includes nonprofit businesses as well.

• The administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 4626. The repeal of the antitrust exemption in the McCarran-Ferguson Act, as it applies to the health insurance industry, would give American families and businesses, big and small, more control over their own health care choices by promoting greater insurance competition. The repeal also will outlaw existing, anti-competitive health insurance practices like price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation that drive up costs for all Americans. Health insurance reform should be built on a strong commitment to competition in all areas

• Families: the bill allows a child in a family to be on the family’s policy until age 26.

• The bill also states that any policy cannot be refused due to a precondition illness.

• Bans discrimination of children with preconditioned illnesses.

• Ends rescissions and bans companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick.

• Reinsurance: If you are between the ages of 55-65 and not eligible for Medicare, health care reform reimburses the employer 80 percent of the cost to continue to cover the employee at the above age group.

• Affordable health care will be more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut in history reducing premiums for millions of families and small business owners.  

• Sets up new competitive health insurance markets.

• Broadens the current coverage for Medicare participants.

• Brings greater accountability to health care by laying out common sense “rules of the road” to keep premiums down and prevent health insurance abuses and denial of care.

• COBRA provides a 65 percent COBRA subsidy to protect millions of Americans who lose their jobs and need affordable health care.

•You can keep your current doctor.  You can see a specialist. You are in control.

You are in the driver’s seat. You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to participate.

We live in a world where we can access facts through newspapers, TV news, magazines and the Internet. All are ways we have ready access to research the facts and the truth. Opinions like Mr. Horner’s are just that — opinions, not facts. Me too, I have an opinion and I have backed it up with facts, not fiction or fears.  

There is only one democratic attorney general challenging this bill and he is now wavering in his opinion given the affirmative mood of his electorate.  We can’t buckle under due to mistruths and fear.  We need to be responsible and open-minded. This bill, while not the perfect one, is just a first step in moving a highly industrialized country into the 21st century. We are the only country without some kind of health care system for our people. Yes, we have Medicare, Medicaid and military (VA) insurance all government-operated, and, in addition, Social Security, all of which we screamed about at the time of inception and now are happy to have.

Folks, this bill is a beginning and a good beginning. Don’t be fooled or duped by mistruths and misconceptions. Democrats have done a good job of fulfilling their election promises, of which health care reform was one. Against great odds, this bill was passed. Let’s be grateful and have a positive attitude.

Karen Awad is a resident of Kissimmee.