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Finally someone in the media mentions cost, of course, it isn't front page CNN, MSNBC, ABC, New York Times...
I wish those who really want to be dependent on government would just declare themselves “wards of the state”. They would lose the right to vote but would be given adequate housing, food, healthcare and a gated community. An old abandoned army base would do. Make it a gun free God free zone and it would be a liberal utopia.
IMO, this would make MORE people uninsured. There are going to be PLENTY of working people who get dropped by their employer and make too much money to qualify for any kind of subsidy. What I have never heard is whether the 8% penalty for not covering your employees accrues to those employees or is just sent off to Uncle Sam, leaving the employees to fend for themselves. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an extra $20,000/year to pay for health insurance for my family.
Not the most important item in the list, but then, I often focus on financial things. This item is a "mini-lockbox." Its an excuse to raise taxes now -- after all, they are to build up the health insurance fund -- while not actually providing anything with them. Does anyone believe these tax funds will be treated differently than the funds diverted from Social Security? They will be spent immediately, and the health fund will get some IOUs.
If a new President and legislature repeal Obamacare, they will be left with a huge debt and some worthless IOUs. If they don't, when the healthcare expenses start, the flow of funds needs will be identical. Instead of funding the plan entirely with current 2013 taxes, the government will get the Treasury to issue bonds to redeem the IOUs, which the Fed will then monetize by purchasing. Or, maybe the Fed will just cash the IOUs directly and stick them on their degraded balance sheet.
If the recession continues for a couple more years, we'll get a preview of how this works as Social Security, which is going cash-negative sooner than anyone thought, cashes in its IOUs.
bttt