Tax break for the middle class to become extinct under Obamacare!

[healthmyths]

President Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday night (State of the Union) to assist an American middle class squeezed by rising costs and stagnant wages, ...

YET.. His Obamacare is destroying one of the BEST methods of keeping health care costs down!

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts (FSAs).

FSAs are mostly funded by workers through contributions taken out of their paychecks.

While 35 million workers use FSAs, millions more are offered them and could save tax with them.

source:Tax Breaks For Medical Expenses Under ObamaCare - Forbes

BUT: ObamaCare put a new $2,500 limit on contributions to FSAs beginning with the 2013 plan year.
Previously, there was no legal limit, but most employers set a $5,000 cap.
(A two-career couple, with two accounts, can still sock away $5,000 in 2013.) What ObamaCare didn’t change is that the FSA is a use-it-or-lose-it account.

My son's family uses them for doctor visits, minor emergencies,etc.

Again using before tax dollar deductions at work my daughter-in-law's paycheck is reduced -- before taxes... i.e. TAX LOOPHOLE!!!

This means they don't go to the doctor for a slight headache, or a cold, or some other totally wasted expense.
Obviously they are very smart people and with the internet able to really determine the need for a visit.
So they keep their insurance claim experiences down. Which keeps their premiums down for those future catastrophic expenses the insurance will pay.

"The obstacles Obamacare creates for consumer-driven health plans could lead to their extinction, even though they are an affordable form of coverage that is gaining in popularity.
source:"http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/24/side-effects-if-you-like-your-hsa-get-ready-to-lose-it/

Out of total ignorance of how insurance works and the advantages the middle class using HSAs,FSAs,etc. Obamacare is destroying once again the middle class!

 

[Truthmatters]

do you remember how healthcare was increasing before this law?


why do you pretend that a heath care savings account can do what it can not do?

 

[OODA_Loop]

do you remember how healthcare was increasing before this law?

Still increasing because of the law.

 

[editec]

do you remember how healthcare was increasing before this law?

Still increasing because of the law.

ALSO correct.

What do you know?

There really is no debate worth having in the case of ACA.

Unless of course, you are a partisan.

 

[waltky]

Subsidies to help pay for Obamacare are available based on income...

Millions eligible for Obamacare subsidies, but most don't know it
April 23, 2013: Nearly 26 million Americans could be eligible for health insurance subsidies next year, but most don't know it.

That's because relatively few people are familiar with provisions in the Affordable Care Act, aka "Obamacare," that will provide tax credits to low- and middle-income consumers to help them purchase health coverage through state-run insurance exchanges. Most of those who will be able to claim the subsidies are in working families with annual earnings between $47,100 and $94,200, according to a recent analysis by Families USA, a consumer advocacy group. More than a third of those eligible will be young adults between ages 18 and 34. "There's a huge number of people who can get coverage this way and can get significant help," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. "It's not just for the poor. It reaches deeply into the middle class."

Here's how the subsidies will work:

Starting in October, those looking to buy individual health insurance can enroll in plans offered through state-based exchanges, with coverage beginning in January. Consumers buying individual plans will be able to choose between four levels of coverage: platinum, gold, silver and bronze. The plans will differ in their premiums and out-of-pocket expense burdens.

People who are not in a government health insurance program, such as Medicaid or Medicare, and do not have access to an affordable plan at work may be eligible for help paying their premiums. The assistance is available to those with incomes of up to four times the federal poverty level -- this year, that's $45,960 for an individual or $94,200 for a family of four -- and will be scaled to ensure that folks don't pay more than a designated percentage (the exact target varies by income level) of their earnings toward the premium. The subsidy will be paid directly to the insurance company.

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