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I just got this from my Congressman .
Dear Friend,
The recently enacted health care bill is one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation in generations. With health care accounting for nearly 17% of the U.S. economy, this new law will affect every single American. Costing nearly $1 trillion and filled with significant changes to current law, it may be years before we are fully aware of the true implications of this law.
Clearly, many questions still exist on how this legislation will affect how health care is administered in this country. Accordingly, I put together some information about this new law and how it will impact you. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact one of my offices.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
Congressman Cliff Stearns
New government mandates, requirements, and regulations
For the first time in history, the federal government is mandating that all citizens purchase a "good or service" provided by a private company. Every individual will now be required to carry health insurance. If individuals do not receive health insurance from their employer, then they must purchase it. Otherwise, they will be subjected to a fine of 2.5% of taxable income or $695, whichever is higher. Furthermore, businesses with more than 50 full-time employees will now be required to provide health insurance to their employees or face a stiff penalty as well.
In addition, 159 new boards, commissions and government agencies will be created, including the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is authorized to cut $15.5 billion from Medicare.
Cost
The true long-range costs of the health care bill are not precisely known. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the cost to be $938 billion over the next 10 years. However, the CBO does not factor in administrative or compliance costs that could make the total cost rise. Democrats say that this bill will save $143 billion over the next ten years, but that number uses some creative budget gimmicks. It uses 10 years of taxes to pay for 6 years of benefits in the health exchange. The bill assumes a 21% cut to Medicare physician payments and a 2% cut each year. It provides a $156 billion cut to hospital reimbursement formulas. It creates a new entitlement program that collects more revenue than it spends in the first ten years, but will become insolvent in the decade that follows.
**broken link removed**
In order to pay for this expansive government program, the new health care law raises taxes by $569.2 billion and cuts Medicare by $528.5 billion, including a cut of $156.6 billion to hospitals. Of particular interest to the 22,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in my congressional district, $136 billion was cut from Medicare Advantage in order to pay for this new law. There are over 10 million seniors in the United States using Medicare Advantage, over 20% of the Medicare eligible population, and about one-third will lose their coverage under this law.
CBO further estimates that 8-9 million workers will lose their employer sponsored health plans under this bill. Premiums are also expected to increase, as more health plans will have to comply with burdensome coverage mandates from the federal government in addition to current state government requirements.
In order to implement both the employer and individual mandates included in this new law, it has been estimated that the federal government may have to hire up to 16,000 new employees to carry out the enforcement and compliance requirements of the bill. It will cost over $50 billion to expand the Department of Health and Human Services to administer this program and will cost the states billions of dollars to provide additional coverage under Medicaid.
TRICARE and VA questions still unanswered
One of my biggest concerns with the health care bill is the possibility that active duty military and veterans could be forced to buy additional health coverage to go along with their TRICARE or VA coverage. Veterans groups have expressed similar concerns. I do not believe the final Democrat health care bill protects these plans. Neither TRICARE nor the VA health system is properly exempted from the minimum coverage requirement. Unless Congress acts, servicemembers, veterans and their families would have to buy some additional health coverage or pay a penalty tax. This situation is be unacceptable, which is why I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 4894, which explicitly declares that both TRICARE and VA meet the minimum standard requirement.
Timeline
As you are aware, the new health care bill is complicated and contains a large number of changes to the current system. Below is a timeline showing when major provisions come into effect.
2010
Children allowed to stay on parents plans until age 26
Tax on indoor tanning begins
Pre-existing condition exclusion for children is prohibited
2011
$2 billion cut to Medicare Advantage (MA), first of 9 years of cuts to MA for over $136 billion
Start of $27 billion in taxes on drug companies
New tax established to support assisted facility entitlement with eligibility after 5 years of contributions
Increase Medicare tax for incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples taxable income includes capital gains and rental income for Medicare taxation
2013
New taxes on medical devices such as pacemakers, prosthetics and wheelchairs intended to obtain $20 billion cost will be passed on to the patients
2014
Health Exchanges are of 50 employees or more
Penalty tax on employers for not offering health insurance
Penalty tax on individuals for not having health insurance
All pre-existing condition exclusions are prohibited
Start of $60 billion in taxes on health insurance companies
Dear Friend,
The recently enacted health care bill is one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation in generations. With health care accounting for nearly 17% of the U.S. economy, this new law will affect every single American. Costing nearly $1 trillion and filled with significant changes to current law, it may be years before we are fully aware of the true implications of this law.
Clearly, many questions still exist on how this legislation will affect how health care is administered in this country. Accordingly, I put together some information about this new law and how it will impact you. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact one of my offices.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
Congressman Cliff Stearns
New government mandates, requirements, and regulations
For the first time in history, the federal government is mandating that all citizens purchase a "good or service" provided by a private company. Every individual will now be required to carry health insurance. If individuals do not receive health insurance from their employer, then they must purchase it. Otherwise, they will be subjected to a fine of 2.5% of taxable income or $695, whichever is higher. Furthermore, businesses with more than 50 full-time employees will now be required to provide health insurance to their employees or face a stiff penalty as well.
In addition, 159 new boards, commissions and government agencies will be created, including the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is authorized to cut $15.5 billion from Medicare.
Cost
The true long-range costs of the health care bill are not precisely known. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the cost to be $938 billion over the next 10 years. However, the CBO does not factor in administrative or compliance costs that could make the total cost rise. Democrats say that this bill will save $143 billion over the next ten years, but that number uses some creative budget gimmicks. It uses 10 years of taxes to pay for 6 years of benefits in the health exchange. The bill assumes a 21% cut to Medicare physician payments and a 2% cut each year. It provides a $156 billion cut to hospital reimbursement formulas. It creates a new entitlement program that collects more revenue than it spends in the first ten years, but will become insolvent in the decade that follows.
**broken link removed**
In order to pay for this expansive government program, the new health care law raises taxes by $569.2 billion and cuts Medicare by $528.5 billion, including a cut of $156.6 billion to hospitals. Of particular interest to the 22,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in my congressional district, $136 billion was cut from Medicare Advantage in order to pay for this new law. There are over 10 million seniors in the United States using Medicare Advantage, over 20% of the Medicare eligible population, and about one-third will lose their coverage under this law.
CBO further estimates that 8-9 million workers will lose their employer sponsored health plans under this bill. Premiums are also expected to increase, as more health plans will have to comply with burdensome coverage mandates from the federal government in addition to current state government requirements.
In order to implement both the employer and individual mandates included in this new law, it has been estimated that the federal government may have to hire up to 16,000 new employees to carry out the enforcement and compliance requirements of the bill. It will cost over $50 billion to expand the Department of Health and Human Services to administer this program and will cost the states billions of dollars to provide additional coverage under Medicaid.
TRICARE and VA questions still unanswered
One of my biggest concerns with the health care bill is the possibility that active duty military and veterans could be forced to buy additional health coverage to go along with their TRICARE or VA coverage. Veterans groups have expressed similar concerns. I do not believe the final Democrat health care bill protects these plans. Neither TRICARE nor the VA health system is properly exempted from the minimum coverage requirement. Unless Congress acts, servicemembers, veterans and their families would have to buy some additional health coverage or pay a penalty tax. This situation is be unacceptable, which is why I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 4894, which explicitly declares that both TRICARE and VA meet the minimum standard requirement.
Timeline
As you are aware, the new health care bill is complicated and contains a large number of changes to the current system. Below is a timeline showing when major provisions come into effect.
2010
Children allowed to stay on parents plans until age 26
Tax on indoor tanning begins
Pre-existing condition exclusion for children is prohibited
2011
$2 billion cut to Medicare Advantage (MA), first of 9 years of cuts to MA for over $136 billion
Start of $27 billion in taxes on drug companies
New tax established to support assisted facility entitlement with eligibility after 5 years of contributions
Increase Medicare tax for incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples taxable income includes capital gains and rental income for Medicare taxation
2013
New taxes on medical devices such as pacemakers, prosthetics and wheelchairs intended to obtain $20 billion cost will be passed on to the patients
2014
Health Exchanges are of 50 employees or more
Penalty tax on employers for not offering health insurance
Penalty tax on individuals for not having health insurance
All pre-existing condition exclusions are prohibited
Start of $60 billion in taxes on health insurance companies
