The Obamacare Maze, Now Online (Transparency Inc. makes 907 pages of Commiecare™ user-friendly)

The Obamacare Maze, Now Online
HealthCare.gov tries to make 907 pages of legislation user-friendly
By Drew Armstrong
July 8, 2010, 5:00PM EST

Health-care reform may have been signed into law four months ago, but in this day and age you don't really exist until you've got your own website.

Obamacare now has a digital home in HealthCare.gov, an Internet destination designed by the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept. to help consumers navigate the health overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama in March. In book form, the legislation fills up a hefty 907 pages.

The site, launched on July 1, offers a detailed breakdown of the law, as might be expected. It also has an insurance plan finder, a Twitter feed to distribute information on policy changes, and videos of senior citizens, pregnant women, and others explain- ing the law's benefits, at least from the Obama Administration's point of view.

In the past, Republicans in Congress have criticized the Administration for using official government channels to promote what they see as propaganda. Michigan Representative Dave Camp, the House Ways & Means Committee's top Republican, in May called an Administration mailing on Medicare changes "blatantly political." So far, though, the new website has gotten a pass. Todd Park, chief technology officer at HHS, says the site's only purpose is "to help consumers take health care into their own hands." It's the first resource, he says, that brings together insurance options for individuals and small businesses and integrates public and private programs.

The bottom line: The new HealthCare.gov site aims to help citizens navigate health-care reform, but it's still missing some key information.

I received this in an e-mail forward.

2011 W-2 Tax Forms and HR3590
I contacted my Congressman about House bill HR 3590, the health care bill. I asked for a summary of changes. The Aide directed me to go to www.thomas.gov; enter HR 3590 in the search box and look for summaries.
Starting in 2011 (next year folks) your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or Governmental body of some sort.
If you're retired? So what; your gross WILL go up by the amount of insurance you get. You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.
For many it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for 15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases. Not believing this I researched the summaries and here's what I'm reading:
On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS - (sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002. "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employee's gross income."
Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters. Go to Kiplinger's and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what I just told you about.
Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book. People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November and we need to vote out Democrats, progressive and liberal incumbents. This is a horrid law!

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