Obamacare cadillac tax

[Wolfstrike]

Bipartisan Support Builds to Repeal Obamacare 'Cadillac Tax'

 

[waltky]

State AG's file suit against Obamacare tax...

Three States Sue Federal Government Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Obamacare Tax
October 22, 2015 | Attorneys general for Texas, Kansas and Louisiana filed a joint lawsuit Thursday against the federal government in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas over what they claim is an “unconstitutional” Obamacare tax that will cost the 50 states more than $14 billion over the next decade.

In March, states were first notified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that they would be assessed a Health Insurance Providers Fee - “a lump sum on all covered health insurance providers collectively, starting at $8 billion total in 2014 and increasing to $14.3 billion by 2018” - according to the lawsuit. “The purpose of the fee was to generate revenue from a windfall Congress expected insurers to receive by increasing enrollment” under Obamacare to help pay for the law’s subsidies. The White House has been forced to downgrade its Obamacare enrollment projections to just 10 million people by 2016 – less than half of the 21 million enrollees previously estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.

However, the federal government is threatening to cut off Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding to states that refuse to pay the fee. More than 72 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP as of July, according to CMS. “By functionally requiring that the Plaintiff States reimburse managed care organizations for payment of tax liabilities, the United States has imposed those taxes on the States,” representing “an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’ legislative power,” the lawsuit contends.

The federal government has also failed to provide the states “clear notice on the conditions of accepting federal funding,” in violation of a Supreme Court ruling that states that “the principles of federalism require conditions on Congressional funds given to States must enable a state official to ‘clearly understand’ from the language of the law itself what conditions the State is agreeing to when accepting federal funds.” The 2010 Affordable Care Act “is completely silent as to whether States must pay the Health Insurance Providers Fee to the federal government through their Medicaid and CHIP managed care organizations or risk loss of their federal Medicaid and CHIP funds for managed care,” the lawsuit points out.

The three states also want the federal government to refund the money they have already paid for costs associated with the fee: $84.6 million for Texas, $31.3 million for Louisiana, and $32.8 million for Kansas. “This threat to cut Medicaid funding to Texans unless the state continues to pay hundreds of millions in taxes to Washington amounts to the very ‘gun to the head’ the Supreme Court warned about in earlier rulings on Obamacare,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Not only is the federal government threatening the health care needs of millions of Texans, but it is doing so using Texans’ own money, collected from them through taxes. "This represents yet another huge overstep of authority for this administration, which once again has demonstrated their willingness to circumvent the Constitution in order to achieve their policy goals,” he added.

Three States Sue Federal Government Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Obamacare Tax

 

[Freewill]

Remember when Obamacare/SCOTUScare was going to even the playing field? It didn't do that at all when one considers the levels of care. The rich will buy gold plans the poor bronze plans, those paying that is. So with the bronze plans the poor will have to pay more out of pocket so i am thinking that will keep them from seeking medical attention. When I say poor I mean those not getting a free ride.

 

[waltky]

Dat's more'n Uncle Ferd makes inna year...

Health Care in U.S. in 2014 Cost $9,523 for Every Man, Woman and Child
December 2, 2015 | WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health care spending last year grew at the fastest pace since President Barack Obama took office, driven by expanded coverage under his namesake law and by zooming prescription drug costs, the government said Wednesday. After five years of historically low growth, national health expenditures increased by 5.3 percent in 2014, reaching $3 trillion, or $9,523 for every man, woman and child. That followed a 2.9 percent increase for 2013. Such seemingly small percentage shifts resonate when the total is $3 trillion.

The report by nonpartisan experts at the Department of Health and Human Services is an annual snapshot of the nation's health care system, a major slice of the economy. Rising spending eventually has consequences for taxpayers, employers and individuals. For the Obama administration, it may signal the end of an unusually long lull in health care inflation that yielded political dividends. While the president's health care law has increased coverage, the cost problem doesn't appear solved. Even now, the Republican-led Congress is preparing to send a repeal bill to his desk. "From the political point of view, it's absolutely significant," said Robert Blendon, who follows public opinion on health care at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Critics will point to the report as authoritative evidence the health law is starting to raise costs.

Underscoring concerns about affordability, the report also found that health care spending grew faster than the economy as a whole, reaching 17.5 percent of GDP. That's worrisome because it means health care is claiming a growing share of national resources. "The return to faster growth and an increased share of GDP in 2014 was largely influenced by the coverage expansions of the Affordable Care Act," said the report, referring to Obama's law. It made no predictions, saying future trends depend on how the health care industry adjusts to continuing change and how the economy fares.

Political appointees at HHS responded quickly, saying that spending is still not growing as fast as in the years before Obama's law, which passed in 2010. "Health care spending growth stayed well below the trend seen prior to the Affordable Care Act," Richard Frank, a top economic adviser, said in a statement. The increase "is not surprising given that more people are covered and getting the health care they need," Frank added. Much of that growth "will be temporary and will fade in the coming years," he suggested.

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[Arianrhod]

Remember when Obamacare/SCOTUScare was going to even the playing field? It didn't do that at all when one considers the levels of care.

You still don’t understand that the PPACA is about insurance, not “levels of care.” Unless you’re talking about elective surgery. Check the fine print on your Cadillac coverage – even that may not cover your butt lift.

The rich will buy gold plans the poor bronze plans…

No. The poor have Medicaid. Prior to passage of the PPACA, many in the middle class could not afford health insurance. Try to pay attention.

So with the bronze plans the poor will have to pay more out of pocket.

No. Bronze plans have higher deductibles than silver plans. Choose your plan carefully based on not only your income but your health status. And stop proliferating dumbass disinformation.