"A lot of the ideas in terms of the exchange...and improving the purchasing power of individuals in the insurance market originated from the Heritage Foundation."
- President Obama
You better believe The Heritage Foundation feels slandered about this recent comment from our President. Heritage will refute this from every angle.
But they are now working on a feature of the Side Effects of Obamacare. After the bill was passed Obama said, "After I signed it, I looked around and no asteroids had hit the planet (chuckling) and no cracks had appeared in the earth."
Again with the arrogance. Of course, people didn't believe literal Armageddon would occur, but the side effects will represent a sure decrease in our liberties and freedoms. Here are some already highlighted by Heritage:
FIRST - Higher health insurance taxes --> Remember the tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans? Under the reconciliation bill, a provision was added to index the threshold of what is considered "Cadillac" to the general inflation rate PLUS 1%. Do you know what that means? "The high cost plans tax will hit the average family plan five years earlier." Over time most plans will fall into the "Cadillac" category and be subject to the tax. See more here.
SECOND - The young to pay higher premiums --> A new provision in the plan makes it more difficult to charge older people more for their premiums (as is the case today). "So how will insurers make up the difference? It 'will be shouldered by young people in the form of higher premiums.'" Heritage then suggests these young adults will choose to opt out of increased premiums and pay the penalty instead, which will only "fuel a 'death spiral' of out-of-control premium price hikes." See more here.
THIRD - Medical devices tax will cut jobs --> Obamacare puts a new tax on medical devices to generate $2.2 billion per year in revenue. The industry simply cannot stay afloat with such a tax burden. CFO at Zoll Medical Corp has said, "We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can't pass along these costs to our customers." But either way, it's more cost to the consumer and job losses all around. Read more here.
FOURTH - Obamacare fatal for your HSA --> If you use a Health Savings or Flex Spending account you should check this out. Obamacare limits these accounts as follows: (1) restricts what you can use the money for, (2) reduces the election amounts in your FSA, and (3) doubles the tax penalty for using HSA funds for non-medical expenses. "But the worst news for those using HSAs is the provision requiring all policies to cover at least 60 percent of the actuarial value of the benefits offered." Basically, high-deductible plans which include HSAs may no longer be viable. Read more here.
FIFTH - Laws no longer mean what they say --> Did you hear the leaders of the House discovered a major snafu after the bill was signed? They messed up the provision that children no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Oops. They've since said it was their "intent to cover these children and the health care industry has kindly opted to go along. "But is this any way to run a country? To have lawmakers and regulators coerce the private sector into doing what they simply declare to be their "intent," rather than what is actually written in the law?" I'm pretty sure that's not how a country is supposed to be run. Be prepared for more of this...
Read more here.
If you want to know how Heritage believes the health care crisis should really be handled, read here. And in the meantime, stay informed. Don't let the press demonize you for opposing this hostile takeover of our basic rights and freedoms. Despite what the media reports, I'm not a racist nor a homophobe nor a feminist. I just refuse to tow the progressive line.
Happy Easter, everyone! We are taking a trip to be with some family. There will be no redistribution of easter eggs going on. It's a free for all, and I like it that way!
Surces:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_040110/content/01125112.guest.htmlThe Heritage Foundation - Side Effects
Side Effects image from The Heritage Foundation
that last bit just made my day!
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