Rand Paul, the Republican Teaparty congressional candidate for Kentucky has said on many occasions that for over 20 years, he has been a proud member of AAPS – Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. So, in an effort to get a better understanding of Rand Paul and his beliefs, I took a brief trip to AAPS’s website.
Rand Paul
The website loads and the first thing I noticed was a link at the top of the page that read, “AAPS FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST OBAMACARE.” Clicking on this link brings the reader to another page stating that this organization has “filed suit to invalidate the new massive health care bill.” The claim goes on to say that “forcing patients to buy insurance” is “unconstitutional.”
Jane Orient, M.D., the Executive Director of AAPS, talks more about the suit, saying;
““If the PPACA (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) goes unchallenged, then it spells the end of freedom in medicine as we know it. Courts should not allow this massive intrusion into the practice of medicine and the rights of patients.”
Now it should be noted that according to the Congressional Budget Office, the measures outlined in the Health Care package is the most ambitious way to reduce the deficit.
As per Payments of Penalties for Being Uninsured Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a document dated April 22nd 2010, and distributed by CBO in conjunction with the Joint Committee of Taxation (JCT), an estimate “that about 21 million nonelderly residents will be uninsured in 2016, but the majority of them will not be subject to the penalty.” The report continues;
“Unauthorized immigrants, for example, are exempted from the mandate to obtain health insurance. Others will be subject to the mandate but exempted from the penalty—for example, because they will have income low enough that they are not required to file an income tax return, because they are members of Indian tribes, or because the premium they would have to pay would exceed a specified share of their income (initially 8 percent in 2014 and indexed over time). Individuals may also be granted waivers from the penalty because of hardship and may be exempted from the mandate on the basis of their religious beliefs.”
When all factors are taken into consideration, CBO and JCT states that of the 21 million nonelderly residents, the amount that will be subjected to a penalty of $695 in 2016 will be about 4 million residents. Included in this 4 million are dependents whose penalty will be paid for on their behalf.
When put in context, 4 million people choosing to go without insurance and paying a penalty is a small figure when taking into consideration that the population of the United States, as of October 7th 2010 is 310,426,419.
It should also be noted that this Health Care reform covers an additional 32 million Americans. These are real people who at times get sick and use the emergency rooms as their primary care. Payment for their hospital bill, as it is under the present system, is done by all Americans. Providing these 32 million Americans the opportunity to pay for their own Health care is not only contributing to a healthier nation, but will eventually reduce the premiums we pay for our own insurance.
According to the complaint against the Federal Government filed by AAPS, of which Rand Paul is an active member, AAPS wishes to “declare unlawful the enforcement of PPACA in its entirety because it lacks a severability clause and cannot be funded without the insurance mandates.”
The suit goes on to list AAPS Standing, as having members who “own and manage medical businesses subject to PPACA mandates.”
The suit goes even further in claiming that because many members of AAPS own businesses with 50 or more employees, the requirement for these members to provide insurance coverage to their employees will eliminate the “cash practice business model,” thus, causing the members to “go out of business.”
Rand Paul, the Republican Congressional nominee for Kentucky is an active member of this organization, but what’s even more shocking is the claim made on AAPS’s website that two more of its members are congressional candidates. Dr. Rob Steel, another member of AAPS, running for the Senate seat representing Michigan and Dr. Donna Campbell, also a member of AAPS and is running for District 25 in Texas. On her website, she says that “together, we can take our country back from the elite politicians and entrenched special interests who have been bankrupting us.”
Entrenched special interests?
AAPS, from their own words, represents owners of medical businesses whose “cash practice” can be affected in 2014, if these members decide not to provide insurance coverage to their employees. As members of this AAPS, Rand Paul, Dr. Rob Steel and Dr. Donna Campbell are running for congressional seats for one reason – to satisfy the wishes of their organization, to satisfy the desire of their group. This group wants to “declare unlawful the enforcement of PPACA in its entirety,” and these three members would work to get the results this special interest group is fighting for.
We’ve always heard about special interests controlling the agenda in Washington, well this is as special as special interests go. If Rand Paul, Rob Steel and Donna Campbell win their respective seats, AAPS would control much of their agenda, as they see fit.
Related articles
- Rand Paul vs. Pregnant women and newborns (dailykos.com)
- KY-Sen: Rand Paul’s Medicare Deductible Problem (elections.firedoglake.com)
- Is Rand Paul Married? (politicsdaily.com)
