Fwd: qotd: Proposed religious exemption from health insurance mandate

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: qotd: Proposed religious exemption from health insurance mandate
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:44:43 -0800
From: Don McCanne <don@mccanne.org>
To: Quote-of-the-Day <quote-of-the-day@mccanne.org>



H.R. 6597
November 16, 2012
Rep. Judy Biggert and 57 cosponsors

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the "Equitable Access to Care and Health Act"
or the "EACH Act".

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION TO HEALTH COVERAGE MANDATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 5000A(d) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:

"(C) ADDITIONAL RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION.—
"(i) IN GENERAL.—Such term shall not include an individual for any month
during a taxable year if such individual files a sworn statement, as
part of the return of tax for the taxable year, that the individual was
not covered under minimum essential coverage at any time during such
taxable year and that the individual's sincerely held religious beliefs
would cause the individual to object to medical health care that would
be covered under such coverage.
"(ii) NULLIFIED IF RECEIPT OF MEDICAL HEALTH CARE DURING TAXABLE
YEAR.-Clause (i) shall not apply to an individual for any month during a
taxable year if the individual received medical health care during the
taxable year.
"(iii) MEDICAL HEALTH CARE DEFINED.—For purposes of this subparagraph,
the term 'medical health care' means voluntary health treatment by or
supervised by a medical doctor that would be covered under minimum
essential coverage and—
"(I) includes voluntary acute care treatment at hospital emergency
rooms, walk-in clinics, or similar facilities, and
"(II) excludes—
"(aa) treatment not administered or supervised by a medical doctor, such
as chiropractic treatment, dental care, midwifery, personal care
assistance, or optometry,
"(bb) physical examinations or treatment where required by law or third
parties, such as a prospective employer, and
"(cc) vaccinations.".
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take
effect as if included in the amendments made by section 1501 of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas


Comment: H.R. 6597, the "Equitable Access to Care and Health Act," is a
proposed amendment to the Affordable Care Act that would provide a
religious exemption to an individual from a penalty for being uninsured,
providing that the individual files a sworn statement, as part of the
tax return, that "the individual's sincerely held religious beliefs
would cause the individual to object to medical health care that would
be covered" under health plans mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

If any medical care were obtained, that would nullify the exemption, and
penalties for being uninsured would apply. Theoretically, that would
separate those whose religious beliefs regarding abstaining from health
care were sincere, from those who would submit a sworn statement merely
to avoid the penalty while remaining uninsured. In actuality, even with
such religious beliefs, individuals might find it difficult to refuse
care in some instances such as major trauma.

If you check the list of cosponsors, you will see that this act does
have very broad bipartisan support. It seems like a reasonable
amendment, though it still doesn't protect the rest of us from the costs
of care that the person might receive when the medical imperative is
greater than the religious conviction.

Is there a better way of doing this? Of course. Include everyone in a
single national health program. Do not fund it based on medical need,
but fund it through equitable, progressive tax policies. Under such a
system, anyone can decline medical care for whatever reason, religious
or otherwise (except if the person's disorder constitutes a genuine
threat to public health).

Should a person be required to pay taxes into a universal health care
system? I can answer that by stating, as a pacifist, I vehemently object
to paying taxes to fight wars. Yet I cannot be allowed the option of
withholding my allocated tax assessment assigned to our nation's
military ventures. Nor can anyone be allowed to opt out of paying taxes
for any public service that, through our democratic process, we decide
to provide for the public good. That includes health care.