Fix Health Care Policy

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next four days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (e.g., cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

In 2014, Obamacare requires all businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide government-approved health coverage for their workers or pay a $2,000 penalty for each employee after the first 30 workers.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that total penalties paid by employers from 2010–2019 would equal $52 billion.

In 2012, the CBO updated its estimate for penalties paid by employers from 2013–2022 to total $106 billion.

Surprise: Employers are now estimated to pay more than twice the amount in penalties compared to the original estimate. Too bad employers won’t be able to re-gift Obamacare’s mandate.

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises:

8. More cuts to Medicare…

7. Loss of employer-sponsored insurance…

6. A 50/50 split on enrollment estimates…

5. More uninsured Americans…

4. Increased exchange subsidies…

3. Big tax increases…

2. The small business tax credit…

1. And the individual mandate.

Tags: CBO, employer mandate, Obamacare surprise, penalties

Photo: Jamie Grill Photography Tetra Images/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 10 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

To pay for massive new spending provisions, Obamacare includes 18 new or increased taxes, fees, and penalties.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: fees, higher costs, new spending provisions, ObamaCare, penalties, surprises, taxes

Photo: Garry Gay/Stock Connection Worldwide/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 12 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

One of the most infamous features of Obamacare is the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a tax for being uninsured.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that 4 million people would pay the penalty in 2016 and that collections from those penalties would be about $4 billion per year between 2017 and 2019.

In 2012, the CBO and JCT updated their estimate of those paying the mandate to 6 million people in 2016, totaling $7 billion in tax revenue and growing to $8 billion per year from 2017-2022.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Individual Mandate, ObamaCare, penalties, surprises, tax, uninsured

The first presidential debate takes place in Denver on Wednesday with a focus on domestic issues, including President Obama’s unpopular health-care law. Obamacare imposes numerous tax increases on Americans, totaling more than $500 billion over a 10-year period.

According to Heritage’s analysis, these higher tax rates on income and investment threaten to slow economic growth. With so much uncertainty already stemming from Taxmageddon, this only adds to the concerns of American families and businesses.

See the chart on The Foundry…

Tags: chart of the week, higher rates, income, investment, ObamaCare, penalties, tax hikes, Taxmageddon

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report that determined that even more Americans than previously estimated will be hit with Obamacare’s ever-controversial individual mandate tax, totaling 6 million by 2016.

Of the 30 million Americans whom Obamacare leaves uninsured and without affordable insurance options, 6 million will have to pay the penalty, an increased estimate from 2010. According to CBO, “About two million more uninsured people are now projected to pay the penalty each year, and collections are now expected to be about $3 billion more per year.” The total cost to uninsured Americans will be around $7 billion in 2016 and is projected to be about $8 billion every year from 2017 to 2022.

The tax penalty is calculated in different ways depending on income levels. If they do not obtain Obamacare-mandated health insurance, households with lower incomes will pay a flat dollar amount each year, and those with higher incomes will pay a penalty equal to a percentage of their incomes.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Individual Mandate, millions, ObamaCare, penalties, repeal the law, taxed, uninsured

Lawrence Baker, a Vietnam veteran, thought he was going to die as a drug addict. As an on-and-off user for the past 50 years, Baker had been incarcerated several times. It was only until his latest arrest in 2006 at Cook County Jail in the Chicago suburbs that he decided to stop using drugs. After his release, Baker was determined to maintain his drug-free status.

That’s where Catholic Charities stepped in to help. Baker went to Cooke’s Manor, a home operated by Catholic Charities for men recovering from addiction to drugs and alcohol.

“This is one of the best places I’ve ever been,” Baker recounted in story featured on Catholic Charities’ website. “This place is one of the reasons I’m doing so well.”

Baker is now working to get his driver’s license back. He attends self-help groups and has a sponsor to support his sobriety. He’s also in touch with his two children and four grandchildren.

“I want to be a role model to my grandchildren,” he said, “so when my name comes up they can be proud of me.”

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Catholic Charities, Chicago, contraceptive mandate, drug addict, HHS, infringement, penalties, religious freedom

Shortly after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law two years ago, the National Federation of Independent Business joined a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. After victories in district court and federal appeals court, Obamacare goes before the U.S. Supreme Court next week.

Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center, has argued passionately on behalf of business owners against the law. During a visit to The Heritage Foundation yesterday, she sat down with us to preview the six hours of oral arguments and the what’s at stake before the high court.

Listen to the interview with Karen Harned on this week’s Scribecast

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Individual Mandate, NFIB, ObamaCare, penalties, Supreme Court challenge, unconstitutional, uninsured

Obamacare includes such a variety and volume of negative policies that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Here is a list of 10 terrible provisions that every American should be aware of:

1. It increases taxes on families earning over $250,000. In 2013, the employee portion of the Medicare payroll tax will increase from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for families earning $250,000 or more and individuals earning $200,000 or more. The income threshold is not indexed for inflation, so more and more middle-income families will be hit by the tax hike as time goes on.

1. It adds a new tax to investment income. The increased payroll tax rate is also applied to high-earners’ investment income for the first time beginning in 2013. It will hit capital gains, dividends, rents, and royalties, discouraging investment and harming economic growth.
2. It puts new limitations on those with HSAs and FSAs. Starting in 2012, Obamacare restricts the products that consumers may purchase with a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Savings Account (FSA)—such as over-the-counter medications—and increases the penalty for such non-qualified uses of HSAs. It also limits the amount taxpayers may deposit into an FSA to $2,500 a year in 2013.
3. It adds a new tax on those who purchase medical devices. In 2013, a 2.3 percent excise tax will be applied to medical devices, causing a $28.5 billion tax hike on medical device manufacturers. The industry will pay for this tax by reducing jobs and passing additional costs on to consumers.
4. It penalizes marriage. Obamacare creates new taxpayer-funded subsidies for the low and middle classes to purchase health coverage, but the structure of the subsidies allows two individuals to claim more in subsidies alone than if married. This discriminates against married couples and discourages marriage at almost all age and income levels.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: higher costs, new limitations, Obamacare provisions, penalties, taxes

Two years ago, Congress and President Obama rushed to pass the enormous 2,700-page health care law that most didn’t even have time to read. As time has passed, Heritage experts have analyzed the law and written extensively on the need for its repeal. The major components of Heritage’s Case Against Obamacare are summarized below.

Individual Mandate: Obamacare includes a requirement that everyone buy government-approved health insurance or face a penalty. This mandate is unconstitutional and violates personal liberty.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Case Against Obamacare, mandates, ObamaCare, penalties, repeal the law, unconstitutional

While President Obama and congressional liberals have yet to come down from the high of passing their historically horrible health care legislation, conservatives are still hard at work promoting health care reform. This is because with its numerous new taxes, mandates, penalties, regulations, and new role for government, Obamacare can hardly be called reform. Instead, the recently passed law is more likely to aggravate existing problems and create new ones for our health care system, not to mention add staggering new amounts to the federal deficit.

One crusader still hard at work is Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). In an article published last week in the New York Times, Rep. Ryan writes, “To be clear: it is not sufficient for those of us in the opposition to await a reversal of political fortune months or years from now before we advance action on health care reform. Costs will continue their ascent as the debt burden squeezes life out of our economy. We are unapologetic advocates for the repeal of this costly misstep. But Republicans must also make the case for a reform agenda to take its place, and get to work on that effort now.” (more…)

Tags: greater government control, mandates, new taxes, ObamaCare, patient choice, penalties, pre-existing conditions, reform tax treatment, regulations, Rep. Paul Ryan