TO THE EDITOR: THE NORTHFIELD NEWS THE US CHAMBER of Commerce has it right that the Senate passed version of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (HR 3590) that is being considered in Congress is flawed and wrong. The following is what our three person Congressional delegation supports. This is not extremist hyperbole. Many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents agree. This is what is in there. Telling them no is useless because their minds are etched in concrete, but the facts are here.

HR 3590 creates a damaging new mandate on employers to either offer an GOVERNMENT MANDATED level of coverage or be liable for significant new taxes. The Senate bill taxes employers $750 per head, and Obama increases it to $2,000 per employee with pro-rata penalties for part time workers. This is a massive incentive for small businesses not to hire new workers or hire any workers that would trigger the tax. Also, this is calculated set up to the ultimate goal of a total government takeover of health care since if employers bail out the government can step in.

It creates $500 billion in new taxes, many of which will fall on small businesses. Taxes on medical devices, prescriptions, taxes on "Cadillac" benefits, and a "corporate reporting" paperwork tax! Like the AMT, none of these taxes are indexed for inflation and there will be a Medicare surtax on small businesses that file taxes as individuals which will also hit investments and retirement plans. Also, there will be reduced payments to doctors and hospitals and Medicare Advantage, which now covers 8.5 million elderly Americans, will be cut as well.

The bill cuts $500 billion dollars from Medicare (GET THAT FELLOW 60+ SENIORS!). The money will not be used to shore up the Medicare trust fund (which is projected to go bankrupt by 2017) but to create a vast new entitlement to families making up to $88,000 per year, an inadequate trust fund for long term care and a 23% cut to ALL Medicare providers that will drive 20% of providers away from Medicare. Try to fined a primary care doctor then!

Expensive new plan requirements will cause about a 10-13% INCREASE in the cost of health insurance in the individual market, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

It is unbelievable that our government is doing this to us in the name of health reform. Heaven help us!

RON MEROLLI Northfield Falls.