Author Topic: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.  (Read 656 times)

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Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« on: November 28, 2009, 04:45:55 AM »
Rising unemployment taxes could hinder hiring by small businesses
By Associated Press


Published November 23rd, 2009 | 3 Comments

________________________ ________________________ _____-

WASHINGTON — As if small businesses needed another reason not to hire, consider their latest financial burden: The cost of rising unemployment itself.

Employers already are squeezed by tight credit, rising health care costs, wary consumers and a higher minimum wage. Now, the surging jobless rate is imposing another cost. It’s forcing higher state taxes on companies to pay for unemployment insurance claims.

Some employers say the extra costs make them less likely to hire. That could be a worrisome sign for the economic recovery, because small businesses create about 60 percent of new jobs. Other employers say they’ll cut or freeze pay.

• Chuck Ferrar, who owns a liquor store in Annapolis, Md., expects to pay $9,000 in unemployment taxes next year, up from $3,000 this year. Health care costs for his employees will rise by $8,000, or 17.5 percent. “When you start adding this up, it turns into real money,” he said. “If I lose an employee through attrition, I will not replace him. You can’t afford to do it.”

• Sam Schlosser, owner of Plymouth Foundry Inc. in Plymouth, Ind., said his unemployment tax bill could double next year. Revenue at the family-owned company, which makes iron castings for machine parts, has fallen about 50 percent, he said. In case of higher taxes, his company may have to consider layoffs, he said.

• Marjorie Feldman-Wood, president of Al’s Beverages in East Windsor, Conn., which makes soda fountain syrup, said higher taxes would make pay raises less likely. Connecticut is borrowing from the federal government, and employers fear the state will have to raise taxes soon to repay the loan. “There’s only so much money at the end of the day,” she said.

Bruce Meyer, a University of Chicago economics professor, said his studies show that higher unemployment taxes usually lead to lower pay for employees.

Behind the trend are widespread layoffs. The number of people claiming jobless aid has tripled since the recession began. The demand has drained the funds that many states use to pay jobless claims.

Nearly half the states are borrowing from the federal government.

Now the bills are coming due. States reset their unemployment insurance taxes at the end of each year, and 33 states will raise them next year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. The states’ tax revenue in the last fiscal year fell $42 billion short of what’s needed for unemployment aid.

Most of the tax increases are being triggered by laws requiring higher taxes to make up for a decline in state funds to pay for benefits. In some cases, cuts in jobless aid are required, too.

Florida’s minimum unemployment tax, for instance, will skyrocket next year to $100.30 per employee from $8.40. The maximum will rise to $459 per worker from $378. Like most states, Florida taxes companies more if they’ve recently laid off workers who draw benefits.

Hawaii will raise its average unemployment tax 10-fold next year, from about $90 per employee to more than $1,000. And Maryland’s minimum tax will more than triple from $51 per employee to $187. Its maximum will jump from $765 to nearly $1,150.

Federal law requires states to build up unemployment insurance trust funds in good times so they can pay benefits during downturns. The idea is to avoid having to raise taxes or cut benefits in a recession.

But the severity of this recession has bankrupted many states’ trust funds and forced them to borrow from the federal government. States eventually must pay back the loans. Otherwise, the federal government can raise taxes on their businesses.

The tax increases will have “a small, negative effect on hiring” because they will raise employers’ costs, said Wayne Vroman, an economist at the liberal Urban Institute.

Contributing to the problem is that many states cut their unemployment taxes earlier this decade when the economy was healthier. That left them unprepared for the waves of layoffs that began last fall. Some experts say business groups pushed for the cuts and set the stage for tax increases.

States have been swamped by a jump in recipients, from 2.8 million in May 2008 to nearly 9 million now.

The federal government is paying for about 4 million of those beneficiaries. These people exhausted the 26 weeks states typically provide and are receiving extended federal benefits. The unemployed can get up to 73 weeks of extra aid, for a total of 99 weeks, the longest extension on record.

________________________ _______________________

What a mess.  This seems like a dog chasing its tale. 


SAMSON123

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2009, 11:38:51 AM »
There is a saying that if you "Give a man enough rope he will hang himself"..... America has been given a LOT OF ROPE.
C

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2009, 11:57:59 AM »
all the more reason to pass health care reform

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2009, 03:16:36 PM »
all the more reason to pass health care reform

Which one? 

The one that raises taxes immediately and only goers into effect in 2014? 

Or the one that raises taxes 8% payroll?

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2009, 03:31:00 PM »
Which one? 

The one that raises taxes immediately and only goers into effect in 2014? 

Or the one that raises taxes 8% payroll?

where did you get those figures?

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2009, 03:38:09 PM »
where did you get those figures?

Straw its right in the bill.  The tax increases go into effect immediately and the "benefits" only start in 2014.  Dont tell me you did know that. 

________________________ ________________________ ___________

ObamaCare: Taxes for Everyone
By Dick Morris

Now that the various healthcare plans are being reduced to print, the financial details are emerging and with them a fundamental conclusion is becoming evident: The Obama plan is a giant tax increase for much of the American people (not just the rich).

Start with the mandate that falls on those whose welfare is the supposed object of the entire program - the uninsured. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average uninsured person or family will have to pay between 15 and 20 percent of his or their total income on health insurance (counting premiums, deductibles and co-payments) before any of the subsidy in the Baucus bill kicks in. Even in the more generous House bill, the tab that the uninsured must pay is very, very high.
 
Most uninsured would likely be quite happy to avoid paying this much of their income for health insurance. But they will be forced to shell out the money under the program. Others would want catastrophic coverage (which for the young would likely not be too costly) but the Obama program requires comprehensive insurance that is costly to satisfy the government requirement.

Having spent the entire campaign speaking about "affordable" coverage, it turns out the program is not at all affordable, but a massive new tax on the average uninsured American.

Then there is the tax on health insurance premiums that is to finance about a quarter of the subsidy for the uninsured. This tax, billed as only to be levied on "gold-plated" policies, will, in fact, reach down to the average American. The Baucus bill specifies that the tax of 35 percent would be put on all premiums over $8,000 for an individual and on proportionately higher premiums for families. Current estimates are that about one-tenth of the current health insurance policies would be taxable. But the $8,000 premium level that will trigger coverage is not indexed for inflation, let alone for medical inflation, which typically runs twice as high. ObamaCare will take effect in 2013. By then, the percentage of Americans subject to the tax will doubtless expand dramatically. Indeed, this trigger is a new Alternative Minimum Tax waiting to happen. As inflation pushes more and more Americans into tax eligibility, it will become a universal health insurance excise tax of 35 percent. While the tax will be imposed on health insurers and employers, it will, obviously, be passed along to the policyholders.

So if you are insured, you will increasingly have to pay 35 percent more for the privilege. And if you are uninsured, you will have to pay one-fifth of your income in premiums, deductibles and co-payments before any subsidy kicks in.

And then there is the final piece of the puzzle - the $500 billion cut in Medicare that will pay for the bulk of the subsidy under the bill. We are literally slicing services to the elderly in order to transfer healthcare to others. Obama's claim that only "waste and inefficiency" in Medicare will be cut is, at best, disingenuous. Most of the cuts will be in reimbursement for doctors and hospitals. That will lead to less care, shorter office visits, fewer tests, fewer surgeries and less care. And it will lead to fewer doctors. As a result, a survey by the Investor's Business Daily indicates that 45 percent of all doctors would "consider retiring or closing their practices" if the Obama bill passes. The result will be a greater scarcity of medical services, even as the patient load expands by at least 30 million people.

Each of these fiscal pieces is movable. The left will pressure Obama to increase the subsidy to the uninsured. But that will necessitate raising the Medicare cut borne by the elderly or increasing the tax on health insurance policies - or adding to the deficit. Any of these options will alienate moderate senators. Balancing these competing priorities only works if the taxpayers don't know what is going on.

If the average middle-income American family realizes that it will have to pay one-third more for health insurance or the uninsured learn that they will have to pay a fifth of their income to get insurance, they will make their dissatisfaction felt by their Democratic senators.

All of which begs the fundamental question: How willing are Democratic congressmen to commit political suicide? Are they willing to lose the elderly and to antagonize the uninsured as the health insurance cops chase them around the block? When does JFK's comment kick in: "Sometimes party loyalty asks too much"?

Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of "Outrage." To get all of Dick Morris’s and Eileen McGann’s columns for free by email, go to www.dickmorris.com.

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2009, 03:40:07 PM »
Straw its right in the bill.  The tax increases go into effect immediately and the "benefits" only start in 2014.  Dont tell me you did know that. 

________________________ ________________________ ___________

ObamaCare: Taxes for Everyone
By Dick Morris

Now that the various healthcare plans are being reduced to print, the financial details are emerging and with them a fundamental conclusion is becoming evident: The Obama plan is a giant tax increase for much of the American people (not just the rich).

Start with the mandate that falls on those whose welfare is the supposed object of the entire program - the uninsured. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average uninsured person or family will have to pay between 15 and 20 percent of his or their total income on health insurance (counting premiums, deductibles and co-payments) before any of the subsidy in the Baucus bill kicks in. Even in the more generous House bill, the tab that the uninsured must pay is very, very high.
 
Most uninsured would likely be quite happy to avoid paying this much of their income for health insurance. But they will be forced to shell out the money under the program. Others would want catastrophic coverage (which for the young would likely not be too costly) but the Obama program requires comprehensive insurance that is costly to satisfy the government requirement.

Having spent the entire campaign speaking about "affordable" coverage, it turns out the program is not at all affordable, but a massive new tax on the average uninsured American.

Then there is the tax on health insurance premiums that is to finance about a quarter of the subsidy for the uninsured. This tax, billed as only to be levied on "gold-plated" policies, will, in fact, reach down to the average American. The Baucus bill specifies that the tax of 35 percent would be put on all premiums over $8,000 for an individual and on proportionately higher premiums for families. Current estimates are that about one-tenth of the current health insurance policies would be taxable. But the $8,000 premium level that will trigger coverage is not indexed for inflation, let alone for medical inflation, which typically runs twice as high. ObamaCare will take effect in 2013. By then, the percentage of Americans subject to the tax will doubtless expand dramatically. Indeed, this trigger is a new Alternative Minimum Tax waiting to happen. As inflation pushes more and more Americans into tax eligibility, it will become a universal health insurance excise tax of 35 percent. While the tax will be imposed on health insurers and employers, it will, obviously, be passed along to the policyholders.

So if you are insured, you will increasingly have to pay 35 percent more for the privilege. And if you are uninsured, you will have to pay one-fifth of your income in premiums, deductibles and co-payments before any subsidy kicks in.

And then there is the final piece of the puzzle - the $500 billion cut in Medicare that will pay for the bulk of the subsidy under the bill. We are literally slicing services to the elderly in order to transfer healthcare to others. Obama's claim that only "waste and inefficiency" in Medicare will be cut is, at best, disingenuous. Most of the cuts will be in reimbursement for doctors and hospitals. That will lead to less care, shorter office visits, fewer tests, fewer surgeries and less care. And it will lead to fewer doctors. As a result, a survey by the Investor's Business Daily indicates that 45 percent of all doctors would "consider retiring or closing their practices" if the Obama bill passes. The result will be a greater scarcity of medical services, even as the patient load expands by at least 30 million people.

Each of these fiscal pieces is movable. The left will pressure Obama to increase the subsidy to the uninsured. But that will necessitate raising the Medicare cut borne by the elderly or increasing the tax on health insurance policies - or adding to the deficit. Any of these options will alienate moderate senators. Balancing these competing priorities only works if the taxpayers don't know what is going on.

If the average middle-income American family realizes that it will have to pay one-third more for health insurance or the uninsured learn that they will have to pay a fifth of their income to get insurance, they will make their dissatisfaction felt by their Democratic senators.

All of which begs the fundamental question: How willing are Democratic congressmen to commit political suicide? Are they willing to lose the elderly and to antagonize the uninsured as the health insurance cops chase them around the block? When does JFK's comment kick in: "Sometimes party loyalty asks too much"?

Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of "Outrage." To get all of Dick Morris’s and Eileen McGann’s columns for free by email, go to www.dickmorris.com.


find it for me in the Bill

I don't believe anything that POS Dick Morris has to say about anything

I trust Dick Morris's opinion about as much as you trust Obama (probably less actually)

Straw Man

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2009, 03:47:59 PM »
333 - you can find a text of bill here and lot's of other info.

http://www.majorityleader.gov/members/health_care.cfm

Soul Crusher

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2009, 03:50:23 PM »
Ill find it, but here is a quote for pelosi/waxman themselves on this
________________________ ________________________ _

Obamacare won't cover illegal immigrants? Yes it will, says Congressional Research Service
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
08/26/09 10:58 AM EDT

 
 
Among the many claims being made durng the August recess by Democrats from President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, to the lowliest back-bencher is that Obamacare absolutely, positively, cannot possibly ever in a million, zillion years provide coverage to illegal immigrants.

Just this past weekend during his regular Saturday address - devoted to addressing what he called "false claims about reform" -  Obama said he wants "an honest debate" on health care reform, "not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright distortions."

In what he called the "first myth" being spread by critics of his proposal for a government-run health care system, Obama said they are wrong in claiming illegal immigrants will be covered: "That is not true. Illegal immigrants would not be covered. That idea has not even been on the table." Obama said.

Well, Mr. President, that idea must have been tucked under a stack of background briefing papers over there in the corner of the table because the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says this about H.R. 3200, the Obamacare bill approved just before the recess by the House Energy and Commerce Committee chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA:

"Under H.R. 3200, a 'Health Insurance Exchange' would begin operation in 2013 and would offer private plans alongside a public option…H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating in the Exchange."

CRS also notes that the bill has no provision for requiring those seeking coverage or services to provided proof of citizenship. So, absent some major amendments to the legislation and a credible, concrete enforcement effort in action, looks like the myth on this issue is the one being spread by Obama, Reid, Pelosi, et. al.

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2009, 03:53:38 PM »
stop changing the topic

whatever point you want to make you should be able to find it in the bill (which as you know is certain to be changed before it passes)

hint - use <Control> F to located key words

Soul Crusher

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #10 on: November 28, 2009, 03:54:35 PM »
In the News: Obamacare, if approved, won't begin until 2013  
www.benefitsusa.com
| Print |  
________________________ _______________


Washington (AP) - President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare law on July 30, 1965, and 11 months later seniors were receiving coverage. But if President Barack Obama gets to sign a health care overhaul this fall, the uninsured won't be covered until 2013 - after the next presidential election.

In fact, a timeline of the 1,000-page health care bill crafted by House Democrats shows it would take the better part of a decade - from 2010-2018 - to get all the components of the far-reaching proposal up and running. The moving parts include a national insurance marketplace overseen by a brand new federal bureaucracy - the Health Choices Administration.

Medicare was big. This could be bigger. If a bill passes, Americans probably will be discovering - and debating - its effects for years.

"It touches every part of the health care system," said Dan Mendelson, a health care consultant who served in Bill Clinton's administration during the second term. "We are only just beginning to explore and understand what the effects would be on premiums, providers and the evolution of health care technology."

The plan is "at least as far-reaching" as what former President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton attempted in the 1990s, says Mendelson, now president of Avalere Health.

Did anybody think it was going to be simple?

The House bill isn't close to becoming law. The Senate has its own ideas. But the House proposal represents the most comprehensive effort by lawmakers to meet Obama's twin goals of guaranteeing coverage to all Americans and slowing the pace of rising medical costs.

It advances the first goal slowly, and independent analysts doubt it will meet the second.

First comes the pain. In 2011, the government would start collecting higher taxes on upper-income people to pay for the overhaul. The uninsured would have to wait until 2013 before they started receiving the benefits - after the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Collecting the taxes up front - and paying for the benefits later - would help to keep costs manageable over the 10-year window Congress uses for budget estimates. Still, it's not yet adding up. The Congressional Budget Office says the plan would increase the government's deficit by about $240 billion over that period. Long-range forecasts could turn out worse.

One thing isn't in dispute - the role of the federal government would increase each year.

"Having accepted a government bailout of the financial system, and with the government having a big part in running GM, it is just a very different attitude now in terms of the government," said Gail Wilensky, who ran Medicare for President George H.W. Bush "We're seeing that in this package."

The timeline, prepared by Democratic staff members, reflects the proposed expansion of government responsibilities. Here's a look at how some of the parts would unfold:

- 2010

The government sets up a Health Benefits Advisory Committee led by the surgeon general to recommend a basic benefits package. Community health centers serving low-income people get a funding boost. Insurance companies are barred from engaging in "rescissions" - the cancellation of existing policies. A campaign is launched to reduce health care paperwork. Doctors serving Medicare patients are spared a 20 percent cut in fees.

- 2011

The benefits committee unveils a recommended package for adoption by the Health and Human Services Department. HHS sets rules requiring insurance companies to spend a minimum percentage of premiums on medical costs. Medicare recipients get relief from the 'doughnut hole' coverage gap in their prescription benefits.

Tax hikes on upper-income earners take effect.

- 2012

In the presidential election year, low-income seniors get additional financial assistance with their Medicare prescription plans.

- 2013

The year of heavy lifting and major coverage changes. Insurance companies are barred from discriminating against people with health problems. The government opens the health insurance exchange - a new purchasing pool - to individuals and businesses with fewer than 10 workers. A government-sponsored plan is among the options available through the exchange, with premiums estimated 10 percent lower than private coverage. All plans in the exchange offer at least the basic benefits package. Individuals and families making up to four times the federal poverty level get subsidies to help pay for insurance. Individuals are required to get coverage - and employers to offer it - or face financial penalties. Businesses with payrolls under $250,000 are exempt from the mandate. Medicaid eligibility is expanded.

- 2014

The health insurance exchange is expanded to include companies with up to 20 employees and people who can't afford premiums under their employer's plan.

- 2015

The government decides whether to open the health insurance exchange - and the government-sponsored plan - to all employers.

- 2018

Employers who continue to provide coverage outside the exchange must offer at least the same basic benefits available through the government-regulated purchasing pool.

Obama, if re-elected to a second term, would have left office in January, 2017.



http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=51305


CNSNews.com
Medicare Took One Year; Overhaul to Take Nearly 10
Monday, July 20, 2009
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press

 

 

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #11 on: November 28, 2009, 03:57:25 PM »
post all the articles you want

I don't give a shit

find it in the bill and maybe I'll discuss it with you.


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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #12 on: November 28, 2009, 04:14:12 PM »
The congress prepared this.  If this isnt good enough for you Straw, nothing is. 
________________________ ________________________ ______-

Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09
1
HR 3200, AMERICA’S AFFORDABLE HEALTH CHOICES ACT
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT ME?

1. Why do we have to wait until 2013 for it to start?

Some of the reforms in the bill start earlier than 2013. For instance, we‘ll prohibit insurers from denying you coverage when you become sick right away and we‘ll also require them to meet minimum standards to ensure that your premium dollars are going to health care – not just their profits.

However, wholesale reform can‘t happen overnight. We‘ve got to create a new Health Insurance Exchange through which people will be able to purchase their insurance, and we‘ve got to create a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to make recommendations on the essential benefits package. These changes will take some time.
As a reference, it took two years to fully develop the Medicare prescription drug program after the Republicans passed it – and that was a limited benefit just for Medicare beneficiaries, rather than reforming our entire health care system which touches the lives of each and every American.


2. Will I be forced to give up my current coverage and take something that is going to get forced on me?
No. No one is forced to do anything. The entire premise of this legislation is to build on what works in today‘s system. If you have employer-sponsored health care today – as do most insured people – than little to nothing will change, except that your premiums will no longer subsidize coverage for the uninsured. If you are covered in the individual insurance market, you can keep your plan permanently and it will count as acceptable coverage even if it doesn‘t meet those terms under the new law. Similarly, we give employers five extra years to come into compliance with new rules (that most employers meet anyway) so that there is little disruption of the workplace. This legislation provides you new opportunities to obtain affordable, quality health care through the Health Insurance Exchange under a fair set of rules that will prohibit the health insurers from discriminating against you based on pre-existing conditions or your line of work. If your income is below 400 percent of poverty, you‘ll get help purchasing that coverage.

3. Will this be the same as what members of Congress get?

Members of Congress get a choice of plans through an exchange called FEHBP that the Federal government – as the employer of members of Congress – provides. They pay different premiums depending on which plan they choose. The new system that the House bill creates will work very much the same way. Individuals who don‘t have coverage from their employer, or whose employer chooses to purchase coverage in the
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09


Health Insurance Exchange, will be able to choose from a variety of plans in the Exchange that offer different levels of coverage. Individuals will choose the plan that they want and will have assistance in paying their premiums if they have low or middle incomes.

4. I’m uninsured – what are you doing for me between now and 2013?
We are increasing funds for community health centers to make sure you can get care you need right away. In 2013, Medicaid coverage and affordability credits will be available for individuals and families under 400 percent of poverty.


5. I’m insured – how will I benefit under this bill?

Those with insurance will save because you will be able to switch jobs without worrying about whether your new employer offers coverage or not. You can get sick and use care without worrying that your premiums are going to skyrocket the next year. The bill requires your employer coverage to cap your out-of-pocket costs and prohibits lifetime limits on benefits, so if you have unexpected needs you don‘t have to worry about medical bankruptcy due to unexpected costs.

If you want to leave your company and start a new business you have the security knowing that you‗ll be able to get coverage. If you have insurance, but it‘s unaffordable to you, you might be eligible to purchase cheaper coverage in the Exchange. And because millions of people without coverage today will have coverage in the future, your premiums will be lower.

6. Can I keep my health reimbursement arrangement (“HRAs”), flexible spending account (“FSAs”) or health savings account (“HSAs”)?

Yes. Employees may still receive benefits under employer-provided HSAs, HRAs and FSAs, including FSAs that are funded by contributions from employees. The Ways and Means version of the bill does reform the rules relating to the types of benefits that can be reimbursed under HRAs, FSAs, and HSAs, specifically over-the-counter medications, or medications you can get without a prescription like Advil, won‘t be reimbursed. The only exception is insulin, which will continue to be reimbursed. Basically, this makes the tax deduction rules equivalent between HRAs, FSAs and HSAs and the deduction available to taxpayers who have health expenses that exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income, where spending on over-the-counter medications isn‘t counted for the deduction.

7. Are there enough doctors to see me?

The House bill makes significant investments to train more primary care physicians. There will be loans, incentives, and adjustments for primary care physician payment rates to encourage medical students to choose primary care as their specialties. There will also be an emphasis on increased training of primary care physicians in hospital residency programs. Primary care doctors will be able to participate in
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09

3
medical homes that will help coordinate your care, and they will be paid extra for those services.

8. I'm a healthy 25-year old. What's in this for me?

The Exchange simplifies the process of shopping for health insurance for everyone – you will be able to make an "apples-to-apples" comparison between insurance plans when you buy coverage. Young people frequently earn much less than older people, and the affordability credits available in the Exchange will lower premium costs. And since no one is ever truly invincible, young people also benefit from the peace of mind of knowing that no medical need – whether accidental or a sudden illness – will ever bring them to the brink of bankruptcy.
HEALTH CARE COSTS

9. What should I expect to pay out-of-pocket in the reformed health care system?

The bill broadly outlines the coverage requirements for the essential benefits package that every qualified plan will be required to cover and ties that package to the average of what employers offer today. So, you should expect your cost-sharing to be similar to what you‘re paying today, except with important additional protections for high costs.
This bill will cap annual out-of-pocket expenses for everyone who obtains qualified coverage. This means that if you or someone in your family gets sick, you won‘t have extraordinarily high medical costs that cause bankruptcy because there will be a maximum cap on those expenses.

If you are purchasing your coverage within the new Health Exchange, there will be four plan types available to you – each covering the essential benefits package, but with differing levels of cost-sharing. The basic plan will have the lowest cost premium, but will charge more cost-sharing; you can then buy up to an enhanced policy that will charge less cost-sharing; or purchase a premium policy which will have the least cost-sharing of all. Some of the premium plans will also cover ―extra‖ benefits (such as dental or vision benefits for adults) that you can pay an extra premium for if you want extra benefits included in your coverage.

It is important to know that if your family income is less than 400 percent of poverty, you will receive help with your cost-sharing on a sliding scale basis depending on your income.

10. What happens if I can’t afford a premium?

Affordability credits are provided under the House health care reform bill for families with income below 400 percent of the Federal poverty level. These credits will ensure that premiums are affordable, and don‘t consume too much of your income. In addition to help with your premiums, out-of-pocket expenses that you have from cost
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/094
sharing for medical services will be capped – so no one is forced into bankruptcy to pay for health care.

11. Do I have to buy health insurance?

Under the House bill, all individuals who can afford it have a responsibility to obtain health insurance. If families do not obtain health insurance, then they pay a tax penalty equal to 2.5 percent of the family‘s income above the income tax filing threshold, but no more than the cost of the average premium. If you believe that your premiums are still unaffordable and this tax penalty would be a burden, you may apply for a hardship waiver to exempt you from purchasing health insurance.
[For 2009, the filing threshold for single individuals under age 65 is $9350 and for married couples under age 65 filing jointly is $18,700. The penalty is capped at the national average premium for health insurance on the Exchange.]

HEALTH CARE BENEFITS

12. I heard that this health reform will result in rationing. Will it?

There is nothing in HR 3200 that will result in rationing of care. Some opponents point to the new center for comparative effectiveness research that is tasked with doing scientific research to figure out which treatments work best for patients. Rather than rationing care, comparative effectiveness research will result in better patient care.

13. Will dental, vision, and mental health services all be part of the benefit package?
For mental health services, the bill requires all qualified plans to provide parity for mental health and substance use disorder treatments and lists those benefits as part of the essential benefits package. Dental and vision services are required for children.

In the new Exchange, plans may choose to include dental, vision and other additional benefits in their benefits package. The plans will charge additional premiums for these benefits, but you will know exactly how much that extra premium is so you can make a decision about getting good value for your premium dollars.

14. Will it include birth control pills, abortion, and family planning?
Nothing in HR 3200 specifically addresses these items – either to include or exclude them. The Health Benefits Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS for the essential benefits package and these decisions
will be made then.
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09
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15. I’m a person with a disability – will it cover my care?

The insurance plans in the Exchange will cover a comprehensive benefit package that will likely cover the care that most people need. However, Medicare and Medicaid will continue to be available for those with severe disabilities.

16. Are illegal immigrants covered?

The bill explicitly prohibits illegal aliens from receiving any Federal dollars to subsidize health insurance: ―Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.‖

MEDICARE

17. I heard that you are cutting over a half trillion dollars out of Medicare. Is that so and what will it mean for my health care as a senior citizen?

We are making significant changes to payment policies in the Medicare program, but they are changes recommended by a non-partisan expert advisory body called the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission that advises Congress on changes that should be made to Medicare. It is made up of doctors, hospitals, and other health professionals. One of the biggest changes we‘re making in Medicare is reducing the overpayments to private health plans in the program. Today, they are being paid, on average, 14 percent more than it costs them to cover Medicare services. We can‘t afford to subsidize insurance company profits at the expense of our nation‘s health.

These payment changes strengthen Medicare by making the program more sustainable for the long-run and holding down increases that would otherwise occur in your Part B premium.

No doctor, hospital, or insurance company is ever going to say thank you for reducing what they are paid, but these changes are warranted and have the strong backing of President Obama, MedPAC, and many other experts.

EMPLOYERS

31. I’m a business owner – what will I have to do for my employees?

The House health care reform bill requires employers to either offer coverage to their employees or pay a payroll tax. If an employer decides to offer coverage for their full-time employees, then the employer must make a contribution of 72.5 percent of the premium for individual coverage and 65 percent of the premium for family coverage. If an employer has part time employees, this amount will be reduced relative to the hours those employees work. If an employer decides not to offer coverage, then the employer pays a payroll tax of 8 percent of the employer‘s payroll.
32. I’m a small business owner – what will I have to do for my employees?

The House bill will help you immensely. Small businesses will benefit from the insurance reforms that prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against small businesses on the basis of the health of their employees, and the Exchange will give small businesses access to coverage at rates similar to what large employers enjoy. Most small businesses will see a decline in the premiums as administrative costs go down and you no longer have to worry what happens to your premiums as employees get older, have babies or get sick. Small businesses are also eligible for a tax credit to help you afford premiums.

The House health reform bill requires employers to offer coverage or pay a penalty, but special rules apply for small businesses. Small businesses with low average payroll and low numbers of employees will be eligible for a tax credit to help them afford health insurance. These are businesses who are least able to offer coverage to their employees. Many small businesses will be exempt from any requirement to offer coverage or pay a penalty. In HR 3200, if a small business annual payroll is $250,000 or less, then there is no penalty if the employer decides not to offer coverage. However, even these firms could be eligible for the tax credit if they decide they want to offer coverage. In 2008, 4.7 million firms have payroll of $250,000 or
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09
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less—this is 76 percent of all firms. For firms above this payroll rate, but not above $400,000, the penalty is phased-in up to 8 percent. 86 percent of all firms would pay less than 8 percent if they do not offer coverage.

33. I’m an employer with part-time employees. Do I have to provide health insurance for them?

You have the option of providing part-time employees with health coverage by contributing a share of the expense, or contributing to the Exchange in order for part-time employees to get coverage there. Your contribution wouldn‘t be as much as for a full-time employee, but would be relative to how many hours your part-time employee works. If you don‘t offer coverage, you would have to pay the penalty, up to 8 percent of your total part-time employee payroll.

34. Does the health surcharge hurt small businesses?

Small businesses benefit immensely from HR 3200 by eliminating the ability of insurance companies to charge premiums based on the health status of the employer‘s workers. This key reform makes health insurance costs more affordable and predictable for small businesses.

Using the broadest definition of a small business owner (i.e., any individual with as little as $1 of small business income), the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that only 4.1% of all small business owners would be affected by the health care surcharge. The remaining 95.9% of small business owners would be completely unaffected by the health care surcharge but would benefit from the insurance market reforms in the bill. When the Joint Committee on Taxation looked closer at these 4.1% of small business owners, half of these individuals earned less than one-third of their income from small businesses.

Straw Man

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Re: Rising unemployment taxes hindering hiring and job growth.
« Reply #13 on: November 28, 2009, 05:31:20 PM »
The congress prepared this.  If this isnt good enough for you Straw, nothing is. 
________________________ ________________________ ______-
Prepared by the Committee on Ways and Means, 7/31/09

It's 4 months old

you got anything more timely.

you might want to actually try looking at the link I posted where you can find the actual bill that was just voted on a week or so ago