American Health Care Act not so easy to understand

Published 7:00 am Friday, March 24, 2017

To Rep. Steven Palazzo,

Thank you for sharing your short synopsis of The American Health Care Act.

I downloaded both links of the bill as you suggested, from https://housegop.leadpages.co/healthcare/ and was dismayed when I tried to read them, all 122 pages of  http://bit.ly/2lUXmzD

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How in the world can you glean anything of substance from all this legal nonsense?

I don’t think even you or a thousand lawyers could understand or agree on the specific terms of this Act and what it does for the people.

On page 2, Section 103, with its “Notwithstanding’ 18 or so referral sections, just what is prescribed for the Prohibited Entity on page 3?

Is it only for Planned Parenthood?

And if so, why would an all encompassing health care bill single out just one entity?

Let’s take one more example in pages 65-65 of http://bit.ly/2lUXmzD

“SEC. 135. CHANGE IN PERMISSIBLE AGE VARIATION IN HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM RATES. Section 2701(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg(a)(1)(A)(iii)), as inserted by section 1201(4) of Public Law 111–148, is amended by inserting after ‘‘3 to 1 for adults (consistent with section 2707(c))’’ the following: ‘‘or, for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2018, as the Secretary may implement through interim final regulation, 5 to 1 for adults (consistent with section 2707(c)) or such other ratio for adults (consistent with section 2707(c)) as the State involved may provide’’.”

Please explain to me specifically what this means to me. I am a 77-year-old male, who has a degree in engineering, an MBA and 35 years of corporate management and executive experience, and who has no clue what it says.

The bill is entirely too complicated, impossible for anyone to read or understand, and I doubt you or I could figure it out if we pent weeks studying it.

Seems to me that any legislation should be readable and understandable by any voter with a high school education.

This is what’s wrong with our government at all levels, laws made to employ lawyers rather than to be easily understood and to serve the people.

Please work with your colleagues and the Trump administration to begin a new era of simple, understandable legislation for the people.

Louis Cameron

Carriere