This message may or may not belong here but we all know there are unintended consequences of HCR and I am living proof.
I started my own medical transcription service back in 1994 and have been working from home since then. It has worked out well - I was able to be home when my son went to school and was home when he returned. My hours have been flexible and I have been able to earn a nice amount of money. My son is now grown and has graduated from college - college we were able to pay for because of my business. I pay self-employment taxes and federal taxes and the effective tax rate for the most part has been 38% - not because the amount was so high but because of the self-employment tax I pay.
I work seven days per week. I work alone; hence, no vacations and no sick days. I need to be here and available to take care of any emergency patient reports my doctors need right away. There are days I work 15 hours and there are days I get by with 4 hours of work. I have purchased expensive equipment to attract the clients I have. My clients have all been obtained by word-of-mouth. My doctors know they will get thorough, accurate, and timely reports back from me at a decreased rate because I am not their employee. They pay no benefits for me, no taxes, and do not have to provide office space or expensive equipment for me to use. In other words, it works out well for both parties - they save money and I earn a decent living.
I received notice last week that my doctors will no longer be able to use my services and for one reason only - the HCR law. The documentation demands on their practice is such that they will now be required to hire an expensive service with overhead expenses and move to this new EMR (electronic medical record). Their medical documentation services will now cost 3 to 4x what it costs them now and for less efficiency. They will now be forced to lay off employees who work in their offices. They will spend more time and more $$$ for their documentation which will lead to decreases in their services offered and less profit for them. Oh, and because I am self-employed, I am not eligible for unemployment compensation. I have lost my income.
Yes, I know DUmmies think doctors are nothing more than profit mongers who take advantage of sick people. The DUmmies are wrong. My doctors treat many patients with serious illnesses who struggle financially and they treat them for free. They work with them to provide much-needed tests at reduced rates. They participate in drug studies and these studies provide free health care to these patients in return for them testing out new medications.
I am fortunate - I have a husband who earns a decent living and I will be okay - unless he loses his job. Obama wants to nationalize the services of the business he is in as well, so hopefully he won't be affected by that. There are many more people out there like me who are losing their businesses and income DIRECTLY AS A RESULT OF THE IDEOLOGY AND POLICIES OF BARACK OBAMA AND THE FOLLOWERS OF HIS CULT. The unintended consequences are many and many of them are unknown at this point. Health care will be more expensive and harder to get for all of us.
Am I angry? Hell yes, I'm angry. I took a chance in starting my business. I spent my own money to buy expensive equipment and while it paid off for me in the long run, it is now over.
Unintended consequences are a bitch.
