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Limbaugh falsely claims health care bills provide for five years of jail time if you don't buy insurance

November 23, 2009 2:29 pm ET

From the November 23 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

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Previously:

On Limbaugh's show, Palin fearmongered about "jail time as punishment" in Senate health care bill

Right-wing blogs run with reporter's false question on jail time under health bill

Quick fact: Morris falsely claimed under House health bill, "[Y]ou can actually go to jail for not having health insurance"

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    • Author by wolf kotenberg (November 23, 2009 2:36 pm ET)
      5  
      I heard in jail you get free medical
      Report Abuse
      • Author by wolf kotenberg (November 23, 2009 2:36 pm ET)
        4  
        plusthree square meals.
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        • Author by worrierking (November 23, 2009 2:38 pm ET)
          8  
          And they also play Rush's favorite game, bending over and grabbing your ankles.
          Report Abuse
      • Author by Sharpe (November 23, 2009 4:07 pm ET)
        3 1
        In Gitmo you get free medical care... The suspected terrorists get better care than millions of uninsured Americans. And this is no different than auto insurance - you cant drive a car without auto insurance - you will get in trouble with the law not only if you drive but even with the tires on the car. Why should everyone be required to insure their car but not themselves? This makes zero sense. Is our cars more important than our lives?
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        • Author by liberalXtian (November 23, 2009 4:39 pm ET)
          2 1
          OUR lives are not important to these people. It is all about preserving everything for those who already have and denying it those who have not.

          Whenever I have been debating health care reform with people, it is not very long before they exhaust the arguments of its supposed unconstitutionality, the danger of deficits, or socialism, before they finally come out with, "Why should I have to pay for somebody elses health care?" They are essentially being greedy and selfish.
          If they argue that this is a Christian country, they should reread exactly what Jesus Christ said about greed and selfishness, and nowhere is there any caveat about the Constitution, deficits, or socialism.
          Report Abuse
          • Author by Sharpe (November 23, 2009 4:54 pm ET)
            2  
            The constitution shockingly never even advocates for capitalism. In fact its language is very clearly advocating for equality, unions, civil liberties, justice and democracy over dictatorship. Yet, pure capitalism is just corporate dictatorship, inequality, greed, injustice, anti-unions and promotes worker's abuses. I would never say capitalism should be replaced but there is nothing wrong with a balanced system in which the abuses inherent in capitalism are countered and controlled by government intervention. If capitalism promotes inequality, it is up to democracy to fill in the gaps and protect the least among us. How many times in the bible does it say that Christians are judged by how they treat the least among them? I dont think this is a christian nation but I do think this is a moral nation and if it must be considered christian to be moral than so be it. I never read the bible but I have read quite a bit about christianity and Jesus and it seems to me Jesus promoted equality and advocated for the poor, the sick and the homeless. One cannot be greedy and call themselves a good christian. Repugs I have hijacked christianity and warped it into some despicable mess of greed and selfishness (not exactly what Jesus would do). Jesus would not even want to be associated with the republicans in this country. I think he would get sick to his stomach hearing about them.
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            • Author by Brabantio (November 23, 2009 5:19 pm ET)
              1 1
              That's a great point. It's amusing how we're supposed to believe that this is a "Christian nation", while at the same time the attitude towards health care is "screw you, you're on your own".
              Report Abuse
      • Author by hbacon (November 25, 2009 7:41 pm ET)
           
        PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail
        JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats’ Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail
        Friday, November 06, 2009

        Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
        In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”
        Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
        “H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

        - - - - - - - - - -
        “If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]

        - - - - - - - - - -

        “Criminal penalties
        Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
        • Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
        • Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]
        When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
        “The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.
        According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.
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    • Author by soze169880 (November 23, 2009 2:37 pm ET)
      3  
      Well, you're supposed to go to jail for money laundering and doctor-shopping too, but that never materialized. I wouldn't worry too much, Rush.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by DellDolly (November 23, 2009 2:38 pm ET)
      5  
      For the umpteenth time, Rush, there is no jail time associated with failure to purchase insurance. There's only a potential penalty of jail time for failure to pay taxes owed. Any taxes owed. Taxes on an early IRA withdrawl, or on small business income, or a penalty for not buying required healthcare insurance.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by wzwriter (November 23, 2009 2:39 pm ET)
      5 1
      How about giving Rush one year of jail time for each verifiable lie? We'll never hear from the bozo again....
      Report Abuse
      • Author by progressiveright (November 23, 2009 2:40 pm ET)
        3  
        Sharing a cell or cell block with him would be crull and unusual punishment for the other convicts.
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        • Author by Don Hussein Fabuloso (November 23, 2009 3:27 pm ET)
          3  
          Not allowing Rush to have donuts in jail would be cruller.

          Sorry, couldn't help myself.
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        • Author by Limit Corp. Ownership (November 23, 2009 5:05 pm ET)
          1  
          You're right,
          We should have a special prison for right-wing talk radio "stars." So they can each have their own cell.
          Report Abuse
    • Author by progressiveright (November 23, 2009 2:39 pm ET)
      3 1
      Nice lie that has been disproved over 100 time already. Rush maybe the bill should say Rush cannot get health care untill he gets a brain. That would be more likely to happen.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by shaggles (November 23, 2009 2:45 pm ET)
      3  
      It just keeps getting better. Next it will be the death penalty for people who don't buy insurance. Rush wake up. The insurance industry opposed the bill because the penalties weren't severe enough.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by soze169880 (November 23, 2009 2:48 pm ET)
        3  
        As opposed to the current plan, the death penalty for people who can't afford insurance. Sorry, that's what you get for developing the "pre-existing condition" of domestic abuse.
        Report Abuse
      • Author by jjamele2880 (November 23, 2009 3:34 pm ET)
        3  
        The death penalty is already meted out to those who can't afford health insurance- they tend to live considerably shorter, less healthy lives than those who can.

        Not to mention the odds of losing everything through bankruptcy if you don't have decent insurance which actually covers expensive surgery and other treatments.
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    • Author by The New Pilgrims (November 23, 2009 3:04 pm ET)
      3  
      I thought it was going to be 5 years of jail if you don't vote Democratic. Who dropped the ball here? Jimminy Christmas!
      Report Abuse
    • Author by fantagor (November 23, 2009 3:47 pm ET)
      3  
      Hey, throw me in Gitmo! They get free healthcare! Whoo-hoo!

      Randy
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      • Author by Easy to refute wingnuts (November 23, 2009 5:06 pm ET)
           
        And you get all the water you can drink, too, as long as you can swallow with a rag stuffed down your throat.
        Report Abuse
    • Author by freedomgirl (November 23, 2009 8:53 pm ET)
         
      What is wrong with you people? Are you really so closed minded that you can't think of any other way to reform healcare except to have our government force it down our throats? So, it will be a law that we have to carry insurance, whether we can afford it or not, or pay a penalty that we probably can't afford. What happened to each individual taking responsibility for their own life? When this happens, you open the door for the government to "mandate" anything else "they" deem you should do or have. What will it be next? You have to have a certain year or model car, that "they" deem appropriate, or you'll be fined? You can only have a certain number of children or you'll be fined? You have to get "approval" from the government on every aspect of your life, or you'll be fined? Sounds ridiculuous doesn't it? Well, folks, that's where our country is headed if this bill were to pass. It's just the first step in controlling our lives. Yes, there needs to be healthcare reform, but it should not be up to the government to decide what is best for me on an individual basis, and that's what this does. If "they" don't like the kind of coverage I currently have, they'll just force me to change to what they think I need. You know, instead of spending so much time discussing whether or not jail time is an option, why not trying to spend some quality time in discussing the actual issue. Do you really want the government running your life, and telling you what to do and what not to do? If you do, then there are bigger problems in America than just this healthcare issue. Instead of spending so much time blaming the previous administration for all our debt, why not spend some time on trying to actually FIX the current problem. No, I'm not a republican, or a democrat, for that matter. I'm an AMERICAN citizen trying to stand up for right vs wrong. And while we're at it, if you think the terrorists at Gitmo get such good treatment, then why don't we just leave them there instead of letting them come to our country to spread more devastation? Oh, I'm sorry, as you stated they are the "suspected" terrorists. I guess that means you aren't really sure they are responsible for almost 3,000 deaths of innocent Americans, even though they already admitted to it. If that's the thinking of all you idiot liberals, then I'm glad, no, I'm PROUD to not be one of you!
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