In August, I wrote Finding the Truth About Healthcare Reform. It was my way of helping people find the text of the proposed bills on their own instead of just relying on what the talking heads were telling them. Since then, that has become one of the most popular posts I’ve written. People are still finding that article when searching about health care. I feel by not updating my blog on this subject I have been performing a disservice to those who found my site.

So to help out, today I give you a direct link to the Library of Congress’s web site for H.R. 3590: Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009…. Wait what?! What does  this have to do with health care? My research led me to http://www.govtrack.us. Their site for H.R. 3590 explains:

This is the Senate’s health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Senate is co-opting this bill as a vehicle for passage of their reform and will change the text of this unrelated bill in whole in the coming weeks. They do this because the Constitution requires all revenue bills to start in the House, and their health reform plan involves revenue. So they have chosen to work off of a bill that started in the House, even if that bill is unrelated.

So if I understand this correctly, the Senate is using the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act as a bucket. They are going to empty the bucket of everything related to service members home ownership and taxes and fill it with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. While filling this bucket, they also have to deal with considering, as of today,  213 amendments to the 2,074 page Act. Does your head hurt yet? Mine does.

UPDATE (12/22/09): As of today, there are 501 amendments. My head really hurts now.

• Want to read the exact text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? Go here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3590.as:
• Want to know the history of the bill and find out what is happening to it now? Go here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR03590:@@@L&summ2=m&

Remember, if you care enough to protest and call names over this legislation, you should care enough to get the information yourself!

Related posts:

1. Finding the Truth About Healthcare Reform
2. My Response to Congressman Coffman on the Health Care Bill
3. Coffman Responds To My Email About Health Care Reform

With all the hoopla in the news about protests over proposed health care plans, I thought I would try to find the truth for myself. These plans could affect EVERYONE in the country, so it’s important to know what is in these plans.

When I first started searching, I found nothing but opinions: The Fear! The Praise! The Need! That’s all well and good, but I wanted to know what is really in these plans. I wanted to know what would happen if any of these plans were put into operation. I finally found the sites with the information straight from the horse’s (or donkey’s or elephant’s) mouth. I give you…

 The Plans!

WARNING: These are not summarized lists of pros and cons of the plans. These are the ACTUAL PLANS being proposed. There is a combined 1633 pages of legislatural verbage to comb through. This is not light reading!

‘‘Affordable Health Choices Act’’ – http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf

Brought to you by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.

‘‘America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009’’ – http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Also known as the “House Tri-Committee Plan” named so because it is brought to you by the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor.

The House Republican Health Care Solutions Group Outline - http://blunt.house.gov/Read.aspx?ID=1140

Brought to you by the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group. This is still an outline and not a proposed bill. There is some controversy whether the group will turn their outline into a bill.

If you feel passionately enough about these plans to interrupt town hall meetings with shouting, chanting and pushing, you should feel passionately enough to READ THE PLANS. Otherwise, you’re just allowing others to use you.

Related posts:

1. Finding the Truth About Healthcare Reform – Revisited
2. Coffman Responds To My Email About Health Care Reform
3. My Response to Congressman Coffman on the Health Care Bill