Healthcare Blog

Boomer's: Senate Begins Again

Hello Fellow Boomer's. I trust you all had a fun Thanksgiving with your families. Today the Senate begins debate again on our future. Be aware and be informed, your future depends on it!


Ten Reasons Public Won't Buy Senate Health Care Plan
The Washington Examiner
Grace-Marie Turner
November 25, 2009

At a time of record deficits and a $12 trillion national debt, President Obama and the Democrats are pulling out all of the stops to pass a plan that dramatically expands government powers over health care.

According to a Nov. 23 Rasmussen survey, only 38 percent of Americans polled now support the Democrats' health reform plans, and 56 percent oppose them. That's unlikely to change as people learn more about what's in the 2,074-page bill.

Here are the top 10 reasons why:

1. Exploding costs: The actual 10-year cost of the legislation, once the spending begins, will be at least $2.5 trillion. Budget expert James Capretta estimates that the bill will lead to a $4.9 trillion spending increase over 20 years.

2. Losing your current coverage: At least five million people would lose their current employment-based coverage, and millions of seniors would lose their private Medicare Advantage coverage as the program is cut by $118 billion.

3. Job-killing taxes on employers: Employers will be faced with new penalties, taxes, and regulatory hassles. One example: Firms with more than 50 workers that don't offer insurance would have to pay a penalty of $750 for each full-time worker if any of their workers qualify for subsidized health insurance.

4. Budgetary gimmick -- tax now, spend later: The bill starts collecting new and higher taxes next year, but the coverage benefits don't start until 2014 or later. Sending collections agents out four years before benefits begin is one of the budget gimmicks that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., used so he can claim that the cost of his bill is under $900 billion, as the president has demanded.

5. Increasing future health care spending: Despite the president's promise to lower the cost curve, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that the federal commitment to health spending "would be about $160 billion higher under the legislation than under current law."

6. Cost-shifting gimmick: Reid's bill on paper would slash Medicare payments to doctors by 23 percent after one year. This won't actually happen because Congress always blinks to restore the payments, adding another $210 billion to the actual cost of the bill.

7. Taxpayer-financed abortion: The public does not support using federal taxpayer dollars to finance abortions. Yet the Reid bill would require some plans to cover abortions, allow the newly created government insurance plan to cover abortions, and allow companies that receive federal funds to offer policies that include abortion coverage.

8. Twenty-four million uninsured -- still. The bill leaves 24 million people without insurance by 2019, not even close to the promised goal of universal coverage. This will be a serious problem for hospitals that still will be treating uninsured people, including illegal immigrants, but which will be facing payment cuts of $43 billion.

9. Scarce subsidies: Despite spending $338 billion on new subsidies through the health insurance exchange, just 19 million people will qualify for help with their costs -- even though everyone is required to have government-defined health insurance or pay a penalty.

10. Mandates cause higher premiums and more uninsured: Individuals will be required to purchase health insurance, and younger workers will be forced to pay higher premiums to subsidize older Americans. This will create a death spiral for health insurance, as young people opt to pay penalties rather than expensive premiums, and premiums soar higher and higher for those left in the insurance pool.

This is one Christmas present the American people hope they don't receive.

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Boomers Focus on Health Reform

Hello Boomers. Here is a synopsis of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962). Not sure how affordable this is, but you be the judge.

Denny
Cincinnati

http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/housebill_final.pdf

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Boomers Taxed To Death

Hey Boomers. Do you know that taxes are a Boomers biggest expense in our lifetimes, and now MORE!!!

Denny
Cincinnati

The Washington-based Americans for Tax Reform outlines other taxes the will result if the Pelosi bill is passed:


Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).


Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.


Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Nonprescription medications no longer would be able to be bought from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.


Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs, which are not capped now, would face an annual cap of $2,500.


Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)


Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services. Managers' amendment delays until 2012


Surtax on Individuals and Small Businesses (Page 336): Imposes an income surtax of 5.4 percent on MAGI over $500,000 ($1 million married filing jointly). MAGI adds back in the itemized deduction for margin loan interest. This would raise the top marginal tax rate in 2011 from 39.6 percent under current law to 45 percent—a new effective top rate.


Excise Tax on Medical Devices (Page 339): Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price. It excludes retail sales and unspecified medical devices sold to the general public.


Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 344): Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. The law now limits it just to people for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property.


Repeal in Worldwide Allocation of Interest (Page 345): Repeals the worldwide allocation of interest, a corporate tax relief provision from the American Jobs Creation Act. Original bill merely delayed for nine years


Limitation on Tax Treaty Benefits for Certain Payments (Page 346): Increases taxes on U.S. employers with overseas operations looking to avoid double taxation of earnings.


Codification of the “Economic Substance Doctrine” (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related.


Application of “More Likely Than Not” Rule (Page 357): Publicly traded partnerships and corporations with annual gross receipts in excess of $100 million have raised standards on penalties. If there is a tax underpayment by these taxpayers, they must be able to prove that the estimated tax paid would have more likely than not been sufficient to cover final tax liability.

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Boomer Jail Time - Health Care Bondage

Hello Fellow Boomers. I thought many of you would be interested in the article.

Denny
Cincinnati

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]

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

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“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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Boomer's Ask: What's Next After PelosiCare?

Greetings Fellow Boomers. Been on the "sick" side lately and have not kept up with the Blog, but on the mend and eager to discuss health care issues. When the House passed the monumental health care bill this weekend, this marks a huge step. The question come up, if this huge legislative step is walking in the right direction. Do we really want the Federal government to control 1/6 of our economy and make decisions for all of us! I really would enjoy hearing from you all on this most important legislation, and importantly, will it pass the Senate? Continues to be an interesting ride!

Denny
Cincinnati

What’s next after PelosiCare?

By Grace-Marie Turner

Speaker Pelosi and President Obama are declaring political victory for getting their health reform bill through Congress just before the stroke of midnight on Saturday, but they’ve gone against the will of the American people who believe overwhelmingly, and correctly, that it would increase their health costs, threaten the quality of care they receive, and lead to a flood of unfunded entitlement spending.

Democratic leaders have convinced themselves -- and enough of their rank and file to pass the bill -- that they know what is best for the country, even if the American people aren’t smart enough to see their far-sighted wisdom.

But it’s the American people who are right in fearing the massive House bill which would turn our health sector into a nightmare of government bureaucracy.

Many Democratic House members were strong-armed into voting for a bill that they know violates the basic freedoms upon which this country was founded, but they didn't want to be the ones to hand defeat to their president or party.

Now they will head home to answer to constituents who will be learning more and more of the details about the bill their elected officials voted for -- the jobs-killing mandates on businesses; higher taxes on the middle class as well as the rich; higher health costs; government intrusion into personal medical decisions; federal dictates about the kind of health insurance Americans must have to avoid federal penalties; cuts in Medicare; a dramatic expansion of government entitlement programs; and much more.

Members also will have to explain the false promises that the president made to win passage of the bill. In his statement Saturday, Mr. Obama said: "The bill that the House has produced will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality, affordable options for those who don't; and lower costs for American families and American businesses.” In fact, the bill the House passed violates every one of those promises, as numerous independent studies have proven.

And members will have to explain to their constituents why they supported legislation that dramatically changes the relationship between the American people and their government -- forcing them to relinquish freedom over health care decisions for themselves and their families to the political will of Washington.

It is a mistake for political leaders to ignore Americans who are deeply concerned about the growing size and reach of government and trillions of dollars in deficit spending. They are not going to be swayed by flowery rhetoric. They are going to want real answers because it’s their future that is at stake.

Now the battle heads back to the Senate where Majority Leader Harry Reid still is wrestling in back rooms with the Congressional Budget Office to get a favorable price tag on a bill he’s trying to craft to garner 60 votes. The president yesterday insisted he get a bill through the Senate before Christmas.

Confusion has reigned in the health reform debate, with the American people assured the bill will offer them all gain and no pain, while independent analyses show just the opposite.

Many people don’t know who to believe, especially since coverage of the debate is obscured by bewildering terms like the “public option,” “guaranteed issue,” and “sustainable growth rates.” All the while, people are being told it’s too soon to form an opinion because no one knows yet what’s going to be in the bills.

Well, we do know. The House bill is a federal take-over of our health sector, as evidenced by the 118 new programs and bureaucracies it will create. The Senate bill will be cut from the same cloth.

The mainstream media covers the speeches and the news conferences by Democratic leaders but gives short shrift to the facts and analysis that show the true impact of their health reform plans.

The fact is that their plans would mean higher heath insurance costs, a loss of private options for coverage, higher taxes, and huge new federal spending commitments that won’t be paid for by the fake funding schemes.

Please continue to follow what we and all of our free-market friends and colleagues are writing and saying at www.HealthReformHub.org This battle is far from over.

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