Wow! Thanks, Obamacare!
#201
Boost Pope
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- The government will give you free money to spend on healthcare.
- The amount of free money is based on your prior year income. The lower your income, the more free money you get.
- If you get a big raise, then next year you will be required to pay back some of the free money. You will be able to afford to do this, because you got a raise.
- There are no penalties associated with this.
I fail to see the problem here.
Actually, it sounds a lot like the quarterly estimated taxes that I am required to file as one of the many self-employed Job Creators. Except that if I under-estimate my payments, not only do I get to write a five-figure check at the end of the year to cover the difference, I also get slapped with penalties for under-estimating.
#203
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Yes, there will be a segment of the population which fails to plan their finances accordingly. That doesn't make the law unfair or predatory. The fact that there is no penalty attached (unlike underpayment of income tax) makes it rather generous, in fact.
Fail to plan, plan to fail.
In a perfect situation, I either nail the 90% window exactly or exceed my prior year income, and wind up having to make a large lump-sum tax payment in April but without penalty.
This year, I got close to $15,000 in refunds (Fed and CA combined) and it pissed me off something fierce.
it's the same reason I withhold more money each year so I make sure I get a refund and not have to pay each April.
In a perfect situation, I either nail the 90% window exactly or exceed my prior year income, and wind up having to make a large lump-sum tax payment in April but without penalty.
This year, I got close to $15,000 in refunds (Fed and CA combined) and it pissed me off something fierce.
#206
Boost Pope
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Yeah, yeah. First-world problem I know.
It still annoys me that the income tax mechanism is so asymmetrically structured, particularly with regard to people who have to file Schedules C and SE and Form 1040-ES. There are penalties associated with under-estimation, but no rewards associated with over-estimation. I hate giving people interest-free loans.
Solution: for self-employed persons, make all taxes payable as a single lump-sum at the time that the return is filed. That way there's no need to estimate anything. Farmers and Fisherman get to do this already.
It still annoys me that the income tax mechanism is so asymmetrically structured, particularly with regard to people who have to file Schedules C and SE and Form 1040-ES. There are penalties associated with under-estimation, but no rewards associated with over-estimation. I hate giving people interest-free loans.
Solution: for self-employed persons, make all taxes payable as a single lump-sum at the time that the return is filed. That way there's no need to estimate anything. Farmers and Fisherman get to do this already.
#207
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this is why I love the Kraut:
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: We already know from the CBO numbers that it will increase the cost of healthcare by $1.3 trillion. The reason that it is at deficit neutral is because Obamacare, at the same time, increases taxes by the same amount plus a dollar. So that it looks as if it is not costing anything.
This is what happens when you have an administration that has the idea that it can reform, remake and completely re-regulate one sixth of the biggest economy on planet earth. I mean, I'm not surprised that the regulations are late and they are unclear. And they are also incredibly arbitrary. The waivers people get, thousands of them, who gets it? Who doesn't? Somebody whom the government or the Democrats or liberals like? Somebody that is not liked? Are you going to get a waiver?
Look, when you take away the essence of insurance - insurance, you set a premium according to actuarial risk. So, if you are 60 your healthcare costs are six times what it is for a 20-year-old. So, your premiums are six times as much. But, the Congress in its wisdom has decided it should be three times instead of six. So once you do that you no longer have an insurance company. This is not insurance anymore. This is regulation, this is government dictated rates, like the electrical company and people are surprised that all of a sudden you have got all these things that aren't working harmoniously as you would in a market.
So all of this stuff, a delays, the regulation, the arbitrariness, the fairness is a direct result of taking over a sixth of the American economy on a flier, on a system that nobody else has devised in the history of man.
This is what happens when you have an administration that has the idea that it can reform, remake and completely re-regulate one sixth of the biggest economy on planet earth. I mean, I'm not surprised that the regulations are late and they are unclear. And they are also incredibly arbitrary. The waivers people get, thousands of them, who gets it? Who doesn't? Somebody whom the government or the Democrats or liberals like? Somebody that is not liked? Are you going to get a waiver?
Look, when you take away the essence of insurance - insurance, you set a premium according to actuarial risk. So, if you are 60 your healthcare costs are six times what it is for a 20-year-old. So, your premiums are six times as much. But, the Congress in its wisdom has decided it should be three times instead of six. So once you do that you no longer have an insurance company. This is not insurance anymore. This is regulation, this is government dictated rates, like the electrical company and people are surprised that all of a sudden you have got all these things that aren't working harmoniously as you would in a market.
So all of this stuff, a delays, the regulation, the arbitrariness, the fairness is a direct result of taking over a sixth of the American economy on a flier, on a system that nobody else has devised in the history of man.
#210
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#213
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Originally Posted by Smarteack
I know of plenty of offices that wont accept medicare because the practices dont get payment for services, and when they do it's for an amount way under the billed price, and it's a complete PITA to deal with.
Cancer clinics are turning away thousands of Medicare patients. Blame the sequester.
Oncologists say the reduced funding, which took effect for Medicare on April 1, makes it impossible to administer expensive chemotherapy drugs while staying afloat financially.
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
“If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. “The drugs we’re going to lose money on we’re not going to administer right now.”
Patients at these clinics would need to seek treatment elsewhere, such as at hospitals that might not have the capacity to accommodate them.
“If we treated the patients receiving the most expensive drugs, we’d be out of business in six months to a year,” said Jeff Vacirca, chief executive of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates in New York. “The drugs we’re going to lose money on we’re not going to administer right now.”
#214
So, if I understand correctly:
I fail to see the problem here.
Actually, it sounds a lot like the quarterly estimated taxes that I am required to file as one of the many self-employed Job Creators. Except that if I under-estimate my payments, not only do I get to write a five-figure check at the end of the year to cover the difference, I also get slapped with penalties for under-estimating.
- The government will give you free money to spend on healthcare.
- The amount of free money is based on your prior year income. The lower your income, the more free money you get.
- If you get a big raise, then next year you will be required to pay back some of the free money. You will be able to afford to do this, because you got a raise.
- There are no penalties associated with this.
I fail to see the problem here.
Actually, it sounds a lot like the quarterly estimated taxes that I am required to file as one of the many self-employed Job Creators. Except that if I under-estimate my payments, not only do I get to write a five-figure check at the end of the year to cover the difference, I also get slapped with penalties for under-estimating.
This is more or less how it works in Canada too. I have to pay a monthly "MSP Premium" based on my last tax return. Mind you it's not a ton, at most I think I've had to pay about $90/mo. However, you do not have to pay anything back if you make less/more the next year, they just readjust at the next interval.
#215
One of the things I like about "up here" is I can show up at any doctor, and hospital etc. and get treatment. You can not get turned away. So long as I have an ID and my Care Card (medical) number.
We do still have many private clinics up here but only the super rich use them or someone that doesn't want to wait a month to get a MRI done or something like that.
#216
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Baucus warns of 'huge train wreck' enacting ObamaCare provisions - The Hill's Healthwatch
Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) warned he sees “a huge train wreck coming down” with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, known to its critics as Obamacare.
The candid comments came during a Wednesday hearing with Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
“I'm very concerned that not enough is being done so far--very concerned," said Baucus. "Small businesses have no idea what to do, what to expect.”
Baucus appeared frustrated with Sebelius’s unresponsiveness in supplying the senator with information designed to educate and assist citizens with understanding the massively complex healthcare overhaul.
"You need data,” Baucus said to Sebelius. “Do you have any data? You've never given me data. You only give me concepts, frankly.”
Baucus’s comments echo those made last week by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), one of Obamacare’s chief architects, who called Obamacare “probably the most complex piece of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress.”
The candid comments came during a Wednesday hearing with Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
“I'm very concerned that not enough is being done so far--very concerned," said Baucus. "Small businesses have no idea what to do, what to expect.”
Baucus appeared frustrated with Sebelius’s unresponsiveness in supplying the senator with information designed to educate and assist citizens with understanding the massively complex healthcare overhaul.
"You need data,” Baucus said to Sebelius. “Do you have any data? You've never given me data. You only give me concepts, frankly.”
Baucus’s comments echo those made last week by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), one of Obamacare’s chief architects, who called Obamacare “probably the most complex piece of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress.”
#217
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White House delays employer mandate requirement until 2015 | Wonkblog
however:
however:
The so-called individual mandate is unaffected by the rule change. That provision requires the vast majority of Americans to purchase insurance or pay a penalty, with tax credits provided to those who can’t afford coverage.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/07/02...#ixzz2Xz78zRCh
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/07/02...#ixzz2Xz78zRCh
#220
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You know your law is bad when the teamsters are against it:
For every action there is an equal or lesser reaction: Behold The Part-Time Worker Society: "We Won't Start Hiring Full-Time People"
James Hoffa, the president of the Teamsters Union, joined with Joseph Hansen, the International President of the UFCW, and D. Taylor, the President of UNITE-HERE, to write a scathing letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi denouncing Obama’s Affordable Care Act because it will “destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class.”
The letter includes these passages:
The letter includes these passages:
Like millions of other Americans, our members are front-line workers in the American economy. We have been strong supporters of the notion that all Americans should have access to quality, affordable health care. We have also been strong supporters of you. In campaign after campaign we have put boots on the ground, gone door-to-door to get out the vote, run phone banks and raised money to secure this vision.
Now this vision has come back to haunt us.
As you both know first-hand, our persuasive arguments have been disregarded and met with a stone wall by the White House and the pertinent agencies. This is especially stinging because other stakeholders have repeatedly received successful interpretations for their respective grievances. Most disconcerting of course is last week’s huge accommodation for the employer community—extending the statutorily mandated “December 31, 2013” deadline for the employer mandate and penalties
Then comes the threat:Now this vision has come back to haunt us.
As you both know first-hand, our persuasive arguments have been disregarded and met with a stone wall by the White House and the pertinent agencies. This is especially stinging because other stakeholders have repeatedly received successful interpretations for their respective grievances. Most disconcerting of course is last week’s huge accommodation for the employer community—extending the statutorily mandated “December 31, 2013” deadline for the employer mandate and penalties
Time is running out: Congress wrote this law; we voted for you. We have a problem; you need to fix it.