Drink your way to good health with soda?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Drink your way to good health with soda?
28
Tue, 05-12-2009 - 8:26pm

It looks like those who drink soda will be paying for universal health care. Drink up!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124208505896608647.html

Senate leaders are considering new federal taxes on soda and other sugary drinks to help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health-care system.

The taxes would pay for only a fraction of the cost to expand health-insurance coverage to all Americans and would face strong opposition from the beverage industry. They also could spark a backlash from consumers who would have to pay several cents more for a soft drink.

On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is set to hear proposals from about a dozen experts about how to pay for the comprehensive health-care overhaul that President Barack Obama wants to enact this year. Early estimates put the cost of the plan at around $1.2 trillion. The administration has so far only earmarked funds for about half of that amount.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based watchdog group that pressures food companies to make healthier products, plans to propose a federal excise tax on soda, certain fruit drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and ready-to-drink teas. It would not include most diet beverages. Excise taxes are levied on goods and manufacturers typically pass them on to consumers.

Senior staff members for some Democratic senators at the center of the effort to craft health-care legislation are weighing the idea behind closed doors, Senate aides said.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is providing lawmakers with cost estimates for each potential change in the health overhaul, included the option in a broad report on health-system financing in December. The office estimated that adding a tax of three cents per 12-ounce serving to these types of sweetened drinks would generate $24 billion over the next four years. So far, lawmakers have not indicated how big a tax they are considering.

Proponents of the tax cite research showing that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks can lead to obesity, diabetes and other ailments. They say the tax would lower consumption, reduce health problems and save medical costs. At least a dozen states already have some type of taxes on sugary beverages, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of," Mr. Jacobson said.

The main beverage lobby that represents Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and other companies said such a tax would unfairly hit lower-income Americans and wouldn't deter consumption.

"Taxes are not going to teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle," said Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association. Instead, the association says it's backing programs that limit sugary beverage consumption in schools.

Some recent state proposals along the same lines have met stiff opposition. New York Gov. David Paterson recently agreed to drop a proposal for an 18% tax on sugary drinks after facing an outcry from the beverage industry and New Yorkers.

The beverage-tax proposal would apply to drinks that many Americans don't consider unhealthy -- such as PepsiCo's Gatorade and Kraft's Capri Sun -- based on their calorie content.

Health advocates are floating other so-called sin tax proposals and food regulations as part of the government's health-care overhaul. Mr. Jacobson also plans to propose Tuesday that the government sharply raise taxes on alcohol, move to largely eliminate artificial trans fat from food and move to reduce the sodium content in packaged and restaurant food.

The beverage tax is just one of hundreds of ideas that lawmakers are weighing to finance the health-care plans. They're expected to narrow the list in coming weeks.

The White House, meanwhile, is pulling together private health groups to identify cost savings that will help fund the health overhaul. Mr. Obama on Monday held a White House meeting with groups that represent doctors, hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and medical-device makers. They pledged to help restrain cost increases in the health-care system in an effort to save $2 trillion over the next decade.

"When it comes to health-care spending, we are on an unsustainable course that threatens the financial stability of families, businesses and government itself," Mr. Obama told reporters.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Tue, 05-12-2009 - 11:09pm
Well good for me! Since I don't drink soda my health care will be freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! :-) LOL!
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Tue, 05-12-2009 - 11:21pm
Don't worry, we will all have many ways to pay for our "free" health care.
Avatar for ukgirl82
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-17-2005
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 6:18am
Health care is never free.


sportsphotog.jpg picture by usmancgirl

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 9:00am

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Oh, I know. I was just joking. :-)

Avatar for claddagh49
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-20-2004
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 9:04am
I would rather pay the 4,500 plus in extra tax to get
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 9:14am

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Not that I like Insurance companies by any means, but do you really think that you will get better healthcare from the government?

Can you please find one example of anything that the government can do that is efficient, effective, and economical? Anything....anything at all.

We have a perfect model of what nationalized healthcare would be like in America....it's called the VA.

I have said this many times. We do not have a health care crisis in America. We have a health insurance crisis. I wonder why Obama will NOT address the insurance companies. They decide who they will cover, how much they will charge, what they will cover, how much to reimburse the doctors and hospitals for their services, routinely deny claims to avoid paying what they owe, etc, etc, etc. They run the show.

Community Leader
Registered: 04-05-2002
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 9:31am
We have a problem with people who do not have access to health care, with people who are bankrupt because they can't afford health care. You might choose to call it an insurance crisis but for people who don't have insurance, it's an un-insurance crisis.





iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 9:56am

It is against the law for a hospital to turn away ANYBODY for treatment regardless of ability to pay. It just doesn't happen. My DH is a cardiac surgeon and he ROUTINELY (about once a week) operates on someone who cannot pay him. He would NEVER turn away a dying patient because they cannot pay. Yes, he operates for free. And no, he does not get reimbursed from the taxpayers. And no, he cannot 'write it off on his taxes. Many surgeons and doctors provide services to patients who cannot and will not pay them.

Please don't explain to me about the healthcare crisis. Unless you are in the healthcare field, then you really have no idea about it, except what the news chooses to tell you.

Community Leader
Registered: 04-05-2002
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 11:46am
They still get billed. And, people can't afford the bills and end up losing homes, etc.





iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2009
Wed, 05-13-2009 - 1:09pm

By law, physicians must bill patients for services. Patients, however, do not have to pay the bill. For instance, when a patient who cannot possibly afford heart surgery gets the procedure done by my husband, he explains to them that he has to bill them by law. He tells them to just ignore the bill if they cannot pay it.

My husband doesn't really "donate his time" so to speak. He takes care of people, regardless whether they can pay or not. Many physicians, nurses, and hospitals do the same thing. Americans are under the impression that the government (taxpayers) somehow reimburse healthcare professionals and hospitals when people cannot pay. This is not the case at all. Many hospitals and emergency rooms have to close their doors because they can no longer afford to stay open.

Again, remember, the poor have coverage....it's the working class that do not. Either they cannot or will not pay for coverage. There are many affordable insurance options available to single people and families such as Health Savings Accounts (not to be confused with Flexible Spending Accounts).

Unfortunately, Americans in general are very unhealthy. The majority of Americans are obese and do not take care of themselves. They smoke, drink, have horrible diets, and are generally lazy. They want a pill to fix all their ailments. Until Americans take a little personal accountability for their health....healthcare in America is going to be an uphill battle.

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