 s the U.S. transitions from a majority white to a majority non-white country, President Barack Obama and the left-wing majority in Congress are preparing to shift government healthcare benefits from the realtively older and wealthier white portion of the population to the relatively younger and poorer portion, including millions of illegal aliens, most from the Third World. The Obama regime's proposed plan for "universal health care" will sharply reduce the amount the government will pay for healthcare for the elderly under Medicare in order to help pay for expanding the amount spent to guarantee healthcare through insurance coverage for millions of the uninsured. "I am going to give health insurance to 47 million Americans who are now without coverage," declared President Obama, touting his plan. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one-fourth of the 47 million uninsured are not really Americans at all, but are non-citizen foreigners living and working in the U.S. illegally. (The number of Illegal aliens in the U.S. is estimated to range from 12 million to 20 million.) As a result, the principal losers in the Obama regime's universal healthcare scheme will be America's elderly, who are mostly white. "The principal impact of the Obama healthcare program will be to reduce sharply the medical services the elderly can use. No longer will their every medical need be met, their every medication prescribed, their every need to improve their quality of life answered," reported New York Post columnist Dick Morris in his analysis of the legislation. "The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access." At the same time, the biggest beneficiaries who will get subsidized insurance coverage will be immigrants, and the poor and uninsured, among whom blacks and Hispanics are overrepresented. Because nearly half of all healthcare costs are incurred in the last six months of life, the Obama regime proposes creation of a Federal Health Board to determine the cost-effectiveness of medical treatments. To achieve a reduction in the amount spent nationally on healthcare, the board will establish guidelines and standards to ration the amount of care available. "In assessing whether to allow certain treatments to a given patient, medical professionals will be encouraged to apply the Quality-Adjusted Remaining Years system. Under QARY, decision-makers seek to 'amortize' the cost of treatment over the remaining 'quality years of life' likely for that patient," reported Morris. Thus, a 75 year-old patient with a heart condition might be denied a $100,000 hip replacement, while it might be approved for a younger patient with no heart problems. Obama and his lieutenants on Capitol Hill, including left-wing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, pretend publicly that illegal aliens will not be eligible for federally-subsidized care under the plan. But the legislation under consideration in the House contains no provision to require verification of eligibility. A House committee voted 2 to 1 to reject an explicit ban on illegal aliens from the program, or even to require proof of eligibility. (See related story on page 3.) "The bill also leaves open the possibility that if one citizen family member is eligible for benefits, then the entire family -- including any illegal immigrants -- is also eligible for the benefits," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, an opponent of the plan. He said the bill "contains gaping loopholes that will allow illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded benefits. And these loopholes are no accident." The Congressional Budget Office reported in July that federal universal healthcare coverage for the estimated 47 million people without health insurance would increase federal spending on healthcare by more than $1 trillion over the next ten years. Many important corporate interests stand to gain financially if the plan becomes law. Although the insurance industry opposes a suggestion by some in Congress to create a governement insurance system to compete with private insurers, the industry as a whole will gain by the plan's requirement that everyone purchase health insurance. Those who can't afford insurance would receive a federal subsidy. The multi-billion dollar drug industry is helping push the Obama plan through Congress, and is paying for national television advertising, as well as for public relations firms with ties to the Obama regime to organize "grassroots" support for the plan among labor unions. Drug companies stand to benefit immensely from insurance payments for drugs used by millions of new patients who are currently uninsured. With help from White House staffers, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has joined forces with the Service Employees International Union to create a front group calling itself "The Voice for Health Care Consumers" to shore up sagging public suppor for the plan. Published reports say the interest groups will spend about $56 million for advertising and community organizing to convince Congress to pass the legislation. |