Insider Newsletter Archive

Obama Care has finally been decided, at least for now.  What do I mean by that?  Well, the national election re-elected Barrack Obama for a second term.  In doing so the author of the The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 remains in office and will do everything possible to see that it is carried out.  There still remains however at least two challenges to the constitutionality of parts of the Act.  Plus, as Congress and the President struggle over spending and taxes the money to fund this law's implementation may be challenged.  There are 22 new taxes in the law including the mandate that everyone will have health coverage or be taxed.  At this time Congress is struggling with the scheduled implementation of a tax of 5% of sales for medical device manufacturers.  With the economy in an ongoing negative state, the idea of taxing the manufacturers of medical devices will not only affect hiring in this large industry, but this cost may be passed on to consumers and paid in the form of higher medical costs, precisely the reason the law was created in the first place. So, now as we go forward what happens in health care is a mystery.  Not even the authors of this bill feel that all aspects of the law are good and should be implemented.  Will Congress agree to examine each segment of the law as it occurs or will the prevailing proponents try to implement the law as is? Our firm has been involved with health insurance since 1988 and not one person on our staff feels they know what will happen over coming months and years.  One thing for sure, with the looming unmanageable costs of Medicare, the country does not need another unaffordable entitlement.  Projections from the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) which tries to be politically neutral in its activities, projects that in the 10 years following 2014, Obama Care as it was enacted, will cost the country about One Trillion dollars.  That certainly won't sit well with all the other financial obligations this country has.
 
To make things a little more intense for Minnesotans, Governor Dayton has moved to expand the eligibility for Medicaid and develop a medical Exchange in our state.  The Exchange concept was created in Obama Care and will be funded by federal money and a 4% Minnesota tax on medical premiums in the state. More to come on those developments as they occur.
 
Basically folks, what the current supporters of government run health care are trying to do, is replace insurance premium with taxes.  One will simply pay for health insurance through a tax structure, such as a VAT or Value Added Tax which is used in Europe for these types of entitlements.  It will also entail the government trying to actually control the cost of health care through it bureaucracies.  If they do as well as they have with Medicare we won't be impressed, and will simply pay more in taxes.