ObamaCare Highlights and the "No New Taxes" Hype

Everything in the ObamaCare bill is not fully exposed or understood as yet but some of the highlights can now be listed by year as they kick in. ObamaCare is supposed to be coming to you with "no new taxes" from Washington if you are gullible enough or ignorant enough to believe that. This is a sneaky concept because it plays on words that don't count fees, fines, secondary taxes that will be passed along as costs, insurance premium increases and mandated state tax increases as "new taxes" from Washington. It doesn't count taxes that will automatically increase if the Democratic Congress does nothing and lets current tax rates expire (the so-called Bush tax cuts) and revert to higher rates.

Over a period of a few years, $500 billion will be cut from Medicare, while millions more "baby boomer enter Medicare, which will eventually lead to rationing of some diagnostic tests and surgeries; it happened in Canada and in the U.K.
ObamaCare creates 58 or so new federal agencies or bureaus; a massive new bureaucracy with so many government worker and rules that it cannot help but get between health providers and patients.
ObamaCare has thousands of pork projects that have to do with 'wellness", exercise facilities, inner city health food stores, and on and on, all directed to route pork to those who support the Democrats.

Here are a few of the specific highlights of the health insurance reform aspects:
2010: Establishes a requirement to provide coverage for non-dependent children up to age 26 to all existing health insurance plans starting six months after enactment (citizens over he age of 18 or at least 21 used to be adults, now they are children again in the "nanny" state).
2010: Health insurance companies will be banned from excluding coverage for pre-existing conditions for children. Adults with pre-existing conditions will be eligible for coverage into high risk health insurance pools until future health care exchanges are up and running.
Health insurance companies will be prohibited from levying annual limits and lifetime limits on coverage. All new health insurance plans must provide coverage for preventative services with no out of pocket cost (all health plans will be forced to comply by 2018). Those companies that offer health benefits for early retirees ages 55 to 64 will receive assistance from a temporary reinsurance program. All new health insurance plans will have to comply with new regulations that lay out an appeals process for when health insurance claims are denied. The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that insurance premiums will increase by $1000 per individual or $2100 per family (but this is "no new taxes").
2011: Increases the additional tax for Health Savings Account withdrawals prior to age 65 that are not used for qualified medical expenses from 10% to 20%.
2011: Everyone earning more than $200,000 as an individual or $250,000 for those who file married filing jointly will have their Medicare payroll tax increased from the current 1.45% to 2.35%.
2012: Reduces the benchmark payment for Medicare Advantage plans that cover 20% of all seniors.
2013: Imposes a 2.3% excise tax on all medical device manufacturers. (Ooops, this looks like a new tax that will certainly be passed on to the consumer).
2013: A $2,500 annual cap will be placed on all contributions to flexible spending accounts (amount indexed for inflation each subsequent year). (This will penalize everyone who has a FSA with higher limits but "no new taxes").
2013: The current tax deduction that employers receive for subsidizing the prescription drug costs of their employees who are eligible for Medicare Part D will be done away with. (Guess who will pay for this with lower raises or fewer benefits? But "no new taxes").
2013: The minimum threshold for being able to claim an itemized deduction for health care expenses increased from 7.5% to 10% of AGI although those over the age of 65 can stay at the 7.5% threshold through 2016. (Wait a minute!! What happened to the "no new taxes? Well, this is after the next presidential election.)
2013: The hospital insurance tax will increase .09% for those who earn more than $200,000 ($250,000 for those married filing jointly).
2013: Additional requirements on health insurance companies to implement uniform standards for exchanging health care information, electronic communication, and other measures to reduce insurance company administrative costs. (Sure to drive up premiums more as administrative costs go up, but "no new taxes".)
2014: All US citizens will be FORCEDto have health insurance coverage considered acceptable by the US Government or else pay a fine of $95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 in 2016 (capped at 2.5% of AGI). All of the fines are per person per year except for families have a cap on the total fine of $2,250 and the fine amount for children is half of the adult fine. (This smells like a new tax but they call it a "penalty"! )
2014: Businesses with 50 or more employees will face a fine of either $2,000 or $3,000 per employee for not offering health insurance coverage. (here we go again with a "fine" but "no new taxes".)
2014: Eligibility standards are implemented for newly formed health care exchanges. (This is a code word for government deciding what needs to be in every policy and that you will have to pay for it whether you want that coverage or not.)
2014: Health insurance companies are prohibited from using an individual’s health status to issue a policy or renew a policy. All pre-existing conditions must be covered and higher health insurance rates cannot be levied because of health, gender, etc. (Higher premiums for all, but "no new taxes".)
2014: The eligibility standards for Medicaid will be changed to 133% of poverty for those who are not considered elderly. (Expect higher state taxes to cover this Medicaid increase, but the federal government can claim "no new taxes" from them.)
2014: New annual fees will be levied on all health insurance providers based on an insurance companies market share and whose total premiums exceed $25 million. (Now, who will eventually pay for these "annual fees? Not the companies!)
2017: States may allow businesses with more than 100 employees to buy insurance on their exchange.
2018: The “Cadillac” health insurance plan tax will kick in. A 40% excise tax will be levied on all employer provided health insurance plans costing more than $27,500 for families and $10,200 for individuals. (Watch the unions slip by with an exemption beyond 2018 if Democrats are in control.)

IF ANYONE THINKS THIS WILL REDUCE THE DEFICIT THEY HAVE LOST CONTACT WITH REALITY. ONCE OBAMACARE IS IN FULL SWING, AROUND 2013-2014, INDEPENDENT ECONOMISTS FORECAST DEFICITS OF ANYWHERE FROM $200 TO 500 BILLION PER YEAR. WE HAVE THE MODELS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND MEDICAID TO SUPPORT THE FORECAST OF SUCH DEFICITS. THIS WILL DESTROY THE AMERICAN ECONOMY AND STANDARD OF LIVING AS WE KNOW IT TODAY.