Senate Dems vote to repeal part of health care law

[fgarvb1]

Where are they going to get the money for Obamacare?


Senate Dems vote to repeal part of health care law

WASHINGTON (AP) -- It isn't every day that more than half the Democrats in the Senate vote to repeal part of President Barack Obama's health care law.

But that's what happened Thursday night when the Senate voted 79-20 to repeal a 2.3 percent sales tax on medical devices such as catheters, pacemakers and MRI machines, which was intended to help to finance coverage for the uninsured that starts next year.


more... http://news.yahoo.com/senate-dems-vote-repeal-part-163026133.html

 

[Sean Renaud]

Nobody liked that part of Obamacare. It should have stayed but it's not a shock that it didn't survive a vote.

 

[blue_pearl_85]

The vote in question was on a non-binding budget resolution. So, more properly it should read:

"Senate Dems join Republicans in meaningless vote to say TAXES ARE BAD MMMKAY."

 

[RobDownSouth]

Wow, Democrats can grandstand on meaningless symbolic votes just as well as their Rapepublican counterparts!

Who knew?

 

[marshalt]

A a guy I know works for a construction company. If you've been with the company for 5 years, they pay for all of your medical insurance. I think he said they still have to pay a deductible, but that is the only expense they have. Nothing is taken out of the paycheck. But because of how fucked obamacare is, he's not sure if he's still going to have that next year.

In his words, "The only thing obamacare has done is fuck over people and companies that are doing things right."

 

[blue_pearl_85]

A a guy I know works for a construction company. If you've been with the company for 5 years, they pay for all of your medical insurance. I think he said they still have to pay a deductible, but that is the only expense they have. Nothing is taken out of the paycheck. But because of how fucked obamacare is, he's not sure if he's still going to have that next year.

In his words, "The only thing obamacare has done is fuck over people and companies that are doing things right."

I'm going to go ahead and wager that he has no idea how Obamacare is going to affect his health coverage, and moreover that he has no idea what is actually in the legislation at all.



Put mildly, the scenario you describe is not actually the case. There is no disincentive in the law for companies that already provide coverage to cut it.

 

[marshalt]

I'm going to go ahead and wager that he has no idea how Obamacare is going to affect his health coverage, and moreover that he has no idea what is actually in the legislation at all.



Put mildly, the scenario you describe is not actually the case. There is no disincentive in the law for companies that already provide coverage to cut it.

No, but it will be taxed.

 

[RobDownSouth]

No, but it will be taxed.

Oh NOE, taxed? Doesn't President Obama know that construction companies are exempt from taxes under the United States Constitution?

 

[marshalt]

Oh NOE, taxed? Doesn't President Obama know that construction companies are exempt from taxes under the United States Constitution?

Who do you think is going to paying that tax? The company? I doubt it. It's going to come out of the employee's paycheck.

 

[blue_pearl_85]

No, but it will be taxed.

No it won't.

The only plans that are taxed are ridiculously high-value plans (the kind that corporate execs get--you know, no deductible, everything covered to include boob jobs for the mistress and all that jazz) that contribute to medical cost inflation.

The kind of health plans that your friend--or I, for that matter--has are not taxed, still.

 

[marshalt]

No it won't.

The only plans that are taxed are ridiculously high-value plans (the kind that corporate execs get--you know, no deductible, everything covered to include boob jobs for the mistress and all that jazz) that contribute to medical cost inflation.

The kind of health plans that your friend--or I, for that matter--has are not taxed, still.

Plans over 10,200.

 

[mercury14]

It's a tricky topic. On one hand it's an excise tax on sales rather than income or profit and that has issues. It's good because it's predictable and will generate revenue but it's also hitting medical device manufacturers who aren't making much profit or are losing money.

The theory here though is that with 35 million new potential customers being brought into the fold that the industry is going to receive a massive windfall at taxpayer expense. And I think it's fair to have them pay a bit of that back into the system. But attaching this tax to income in some way might be a wiser choice. There are probably other elements here that I'm not considering.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Medical-Device-Excise-Tax

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

We're All CVS Employees Now
By Tara Servatius, American Thinker
March 23, 2013

CVS employees, and the rest of America, had better get used to turning over personal health information like their glucose levels and body mass index to their insurers - and to the federal government.


Starting in 2014, per the dictates of the federal government, your doctor must record your body mass index (BMI), which measures whether you are overweight, each time he or she treats you and turn it over to the government via your electronic health record, which every patient is required to have. Your BMI will then be tracked by the Health and Human Services Department, the agency rolling out ObamaCare, and a bevy of other state and federal agencies.


Shock and anger ensued this week as CVS employees learned that if they didn't turn over that information to their insurers, they'd be fined. But CVS is merely rolling out what may become one of the most controversial aspects of ObamaCare a little ahead of schedule.


One needs only to look to Europe to see how our political elites will use ObamaCare, and the BMI weight measure they are so determined to record for each of us, to intrude into and regulate not just our health care, but our lives.


In the U.K., overweight patients or those who smoke are branded "undeserving" and denied treatments like cataract surgery (without which they could eventually go blind) and knee and hip surgery, leaving some who don't qualify for the surgery in agonizing pain. Some of the U.K.'s "trusts," which regulate the national health care system for various zones of the country, go farther, denying all operations to those who don't meet the government's weight dictates except for lifesaving surgery on their hearts, brains or to remove cancer.


A recent study shows that a majority of the U.K.'s doctors think the national health system should go farther still and deny all non-emergency care to patients who don't meet certain weight and health criteria. By law, they still must pay for their health care, of course, even though they are denied the ability to get treatment.


Given all of this, it is chilling that the collection of each patient's BMI was so important to U.S. Health and Human Services that it was one of the first directives the department issued after ObamaCare passed in 2009. There is a reason for that.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Who do you think is going to paying that tax? The company? I doubt it. It's going to come out of the employee's paycheck.

All taxes fall on the Middle Class.

And then the Democrats scream about the shrinking Middle Class and demand more taxes for more "benefits" to help them offset the shrink...

 

[RobDownSouth]

All taxes fall on the Middle Class.

And then the Democrats scream about the shrinking Middle Class and demand more taxes for more "benefits" to help them offset the shrink...

Glibertarians such as yourself have devoted their lives to shrinking the middle class, until America consists of "haves" and "have nots".

Ain't no middle ground in your hellish vision of Amurica.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

Hey Throb, Thanks for last night.

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

One of the tax incentives under the Affordable Care Act that would allow small nonprofit businesses to claim a 35 percent tax credit in 2014 has been slashed by 8.7 percent, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

In addition, in the same week that the sequestration cuts took effect, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to deny funding to key agencies associated with implementing their portions of the healthcare law.

Whereas the Democratic-controlled Senate continues to keep at bay repeated GOP attempts to withhold funding, the tax credit is a setback for proponents of the ACA, slated to take full effect in 2014 and celebrating the third anniversary of its signing Saturday. Currently, hundreds of business owners are trying to make decisions on whether to offer health insurance to their employees in order to avoid penalties under the law, or cut work hours and even jobs altogether.

Failure to offer affordable health insurance to employees could cost some business owners thousands of dollars in fines depending on whether those employees receive federal insurance subsidies.

“Shaving valuable dollars off a healthcare tax credit for small employers is more than disappointing,” said Rhett Buttle, national outreach director at the Small Business Majority, a research advocacy organization that supports the health law. Blaming lawmakers for their “self-imposed deadline,” Buttle said that many other critical small-business programs and incentives are also slated for cuts.

“This is not what small businesses need right now,” he said.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/small-businesses-brace-for-healthcare-laws-effects/?singlepage=true

 

[4est_4est_Gump]

The flaws, discovered after we obeyed Nancy Pelosi’s diktat to pass Obamacare so we could find out what’s in it, are legion. Investor’s Business Daily lists a few of them in this third-anniversary op-ed:

Push millions off employer coverage. In February, the Congressional Budget Office said that 7 million will likely lose their employer coverage thanks to ObamaCare — nearly twice its previous estimate. That number could be as high as 20 million, the CBO says.

Cause premiums to skyrocket. In December, state insurance commissioners warned Obama administration officials that the law’s market regulations would likely cause “rate shocks,” particularly for younger, healthier people forced by ObamaCare to subsidize premiums for those who are older and sicker.

“We are very concerned about what will happen if essentially there is so much rate shock for young people that they’re bound not to purchase (health insurance) at all,” said California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

That same month, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said ObamaCare will likely cause premiums to double for some small businesses and individuals.

And a more recent survey of insurers in five major cities by the American Action Forum found they expect premiums to climb an average 169%.

Cost people their jobs. The Federal Reserve’s March beige book on economic activity noted that businesses “cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff.”

Around the same time, Gallup reported a surge in part-time work in advance of ObamaCare’s employer mandate. It found that part-timers accounted for almost 21% of the labor force, up from 19% three years ago.

Meanwhile, human resources consulting firm Adecco found that half of the small businesses it surveyed in January either plan to cut their workforce, not hire new workers, or shift to part-time or temporary help because of ObamaCare.

Cost more than promised. The Congressional Budget Office now says ObamaCare’s insurance subsidies will cost $233 billion more over the next decade than it thought last year.

Be a bureaucratic nightmare. Consumers got their first glimpse of life under ObamaCare when the Health and Human Services Department released a draft insurance application form. It runs 21 pages. “Applying for benefits under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes,” the AP concluded after reviewing the form.

Leave millions uninsured. After 10 years, ObamaCare will still leave 30 million without coverage, according to the CBO. As IBD reported, that figure could be much higher if the law causes premiums to spike and encourages people to drop coverage despite the law’s mandate.

http://pjmedia.com/blog/three-years...than-answers-about-obamacare/?singlepage=true

 

[mercury14]

Where are they going to get the money for Obamacare?

Even if this tax was entirely repealed the CBO would still project the program to run a surplus. The medical device manufacturer tax is only a minor funding source.

And when Republican governors refuse to allow the Obamacare Medicaid expansion in their state it means the ACA is even more flush with cash. Those Republicans are making Obamacare extremely solvent. Oops.

 

[Beco]

Who do you think is going to paying that tax? The company? I doubt it. It's going to come out of the employee's paycheck.

Rob thinks its our patriotic duty to be taxed and taxed again.....

 

[Beco]

Hey Throb, Thanks for last night.

Breast and some nose work.....not bad

 

[mercury14]

Breast and some nose work.....not bad

Yeah but the penis.

 

[Beco]

Yeah but the penis.

yeah, there's always that....

 

[MatthewVett]

A a guy I know works for a construction company. If you've been with the company for 5 years, they pay for all of your medical insurance. I think he said they still have to pay a deductible, but that is the only expense they have. Nothing is taken out of the paycheck. But because of how fucked obamacare is, he's not sure if he's still going to have that next year.

In his words, "The only thing obamacare has done is fuck over people and companies that are doing things right."

Considering all of the Republican CEOs who have loudly and publicly described how they plan to screw people over using Obamacare as an excuse, I, too, have to doubt the veracity of this story. His boss is probably just a douche.

 

[miles]

Throb is quick, isn't he?

What a fucking douche.