Health Care Thoughts: PPACA Penalty/Tax
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt
Health Care Thoughts: PPACA Penalty/Tax
The Congressional Budget Office predicts in 2016 up to 6 million largely middle income workers will pay the PPACA “tax” or “penalty” or whatever we decide to call it, averaging about $1200. This is about 50% higher than previous estimates of impacted taxpayers. A weak economy plays into the increased estimate.
According to the CBO, most of the payers will be in the middle income workers. Does this constitute a middle class tax increase?
In this political season hot rhetoric is flying from both sides. Expect the charges and counter charges to continue.
More info: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/us/more-expected-to-face-penalty-under-health-law.html
Hi Rusty:
Hmmm, gonna disagree on the amount going to be paid by indiviuals. There is no averaging of the amount to be paid EOY 2014 for healthcare insurance.
“penalty will be the greater of: a flat dollar amount per person that rises to $695 in 2016 and is indexed by inflation thereafter (the penalty for children will be half that amount and an overall cap will apply to family payments); or a percentage of the household’s income that rises to 2.5 percent for 2016 and subsequent
years (also subject to a cap).” http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/09-19-12-Indiv_Mandate_Penalty.pdf
The NYT article is pretty vague and the $1200 cited is not applied to individuals . . . perhaps family households and taken from the estimated $billions collected divided by millions??? If i take the $7 billion and divide it by 6 million people, the amount equals ~$1167. However, this amount is reached in a combination of paying the flat fee (1/2 for children) and a percenatge of income if income is > 400% of POL by people not having insurance in 2016 not 2013 or 2014 which is a smaller amount.
Initially and EOY 2014, the amount is $95/adult individual and 1/2 for children. The article makes it sound as if the penalty will be collected in 2013. The CBO numbers are for 2016 (redundant alert). Maybe more political flim-flam?
Reasons for the increased numbers to pay:
– Poor economy and higher unemployment . . . thank you Republican House!
– Mitch McConnell, John Boehner’s and other Republican states will reject the expansion of Medicaid even though it is 100% covered (initially) in cost. In turn this tosses millions into the uninsured without insurance and eligible for the penalty category [one caveat from this is lower PPACA costs as a result of Republicans not wanting to expand Medicaid].
– The $7 billion also includes those who just will not get healthcare insurance and have a good income($48,000 for an individual and $98,400 for a family of four) who are penalized. 2 million of the penalty payers are in the 6 million.
Poor reporting on the part of NYT and the usual BS from the Republicans. I am sure Romney will jump on this also and appear once again to be the village idiot.
The NYT made it clear where this info came from, the newspaper summary cannot replace reading the entire report.
Clearly every individual case is different.
well
it looks to me like a political disaster in the making.
as well as bad policy.
a gradual increase in the Medicare tax of the same amount would go a long way toward paying for Medicare, without the political bad smell of a “penalty.” and of course the money would be in the right place: government insurance for the most expensive part of the medical care problem
instead, you are going to “penalize” me to give the money to insurance company executives.
and the Republicans get to call it a “tax,” which appeared to make some nearby progressives deliriously happy when their champion in the Supreme Court discovered that solution to the problem of forcing people to buy a product they didn’t want from a private company that had robbed them in the past.
STR:
It appears you did not read all 1.75 pages of the CBO report either? This is not so long as to make it unreadable and neither did Elmendorf use technical language either. I am betting NYT figured no one would read all 1.75 pages and just threw it out there. It is a thrash article meant to incite along political lines.
coberly:
In your next “deja vu” life you can confront Liberman and the Blue Dogs and challenge them as to their morality and honesty. Maybe they will get it right? You think? Unfortunately, we live in this life and this is what we have to live with today. I am sure your thoughts and ideas would not go unanswered by your Congressman of Senator.
No one is giving money to insurance companies, it goes to the IRS. Furthermore, if it did go to insurance companies; they still have to contend with the MLR and the risk ratios.
Roberts is not anyone’s champion. He is a snake in the grass.
run
i don’t think you are understanding what i think i am saying. Roberts=champion was irony. sad joke.
Obamney care requires me to buy insurance from a for profit company. or pay the “tax.” it is the first i was referring to.
lieberman is loathsome. so are blue dogs in general. why would think i would think otherwise?
my congressman and senator do not answer ANY questions. they send form letters.
i don’t get the point about deja vu life. and if this is the one we have to live with, why give in to the Republicans so easily? because we don’t have the backbone or smarts to fight for better Medicare?