Posted on 12/04/2013 1:45:41 PM PST by markomalley
The Obama administration quietly finalized the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a provision in Obamacare that will cost nearly $60 billion over the next five years and raise health care premiums by 3 percent.
The final rule, published on Nov. 27, imposes a fee beginning in 2014 for health insurers with premium revenues over $25 million per year. The annual tax is levied for “United States health risks,” and is hidden from consumers since it is directly assessed on health insurance companies.
David R. Burton, a senior fellow in economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the tax will disproportionally impact small businesses.
“Most large corporations self-insure,” Burton told the Washington Free Beacon. “They may or may not have stop-loss insurance. Medium-sized businesses will self-insure but then have what’s called stop-loss insurance so that if their claims exceed a certain amount the insurance company will compensate them. The largest corporations are self-insured, period.”
“In contrast, small companies actually buy health insurance and it’s only the actual health insurance that is subject to the tax, self-insured plans are not,” he said.
An analysis by the American Action Forum found that under the tax, premiums for small businesses and households will increase as much as 3 percent over the next ten years, or roughly $5,000 per family over the decade.
According to the Business Council of New York State, the average family will see a $270 increase in their premiums in 2014. Over the next decade, the tax will cost families $5,080.
“Some of the more problematic issues of the tax are that revenue raised by the tax does not even directly fund new health care benefits but instead goes into the general treasury,” the Business Council said. “Additionally, small businesses will pay a disproportionate share of these taxes since these employers are far more likely to purchase insurance rather than self-insure.”
The final rule sets explicit revenues that the tax must generate each year, beginning with $8 billion in 2014. The government will collect $11.3 billion from the HIT in 2015 and 2016; $13.9 billion in 2017; and $14.3 billion in 2018, a total of $58.8 billion over five years. Thereafter, the tax will be increased subject to premium growth.
“It’s an odd sort of tax,” Burton said. “It’s not at a specific rate, but it raises a specific amount of revenue from insurers who underwrite health insurance outside of the exchanges. You basically have a set amount of money and then it’s allocated among the insurers based on the amount of health insurance premiums they actually wrote.”
The tax is also hidden from consumers. “They won’t see it,” Burton said. “It’s in effect hidden because it’s imposed on the insurance companies, but it’s a cost to them that they have to recover by raising premiums.”
Burton said estimates for premium increases range from 2.5 to 3 percent. The health insurance tax joins the list of Obamacare tax increases, including the medical device tax, payroll taxes, an excise tax on “Cadillac plans,” and others.
“It’s just one more way they’re raising the cost of employing people,” Burton said. “It’s hidden so people don’t really understand why, that’s probably one of the more insidious aspects of it is that it’s hiding the true effect of it because of the way it’s structured.”
“If people saw that 3 percent tax on their bill every month they would feel differently about it,” he said.
They should be
He has cut the head off the senior officer's corps of the military. Keeping only those who approve of loving the enemy and homosexuals. He gives aid and comfort to all our enemies. He turns his back on the very few allies we have left around the globe. He has down sized our nukes. He gives the Soviets and the Red Chinese freedom to roam the seas.
The Soviets now have a nuke sub that spent the summer in the Gulf of Mexico and we never knew it. The Navy knows that this new sub is a "black hole" and they CANNOT FIND THIS SUB! It can sneak up on our shores and pop nukes on us and we will never know where they came from.
The Congress is hapless. They are fools of the 10th degree. Unable to do anything. They are cowards. They are traitors to the Republic. The Dimwits and the RINOparty members combine to destroy every last bit of freedom this republic has left. The National Debt is what??? $17 Trillion or $80 Trillion when Social Security and Medicare are tossed into it. We are living in a house of cards.
This Republic has been dismantled while everyone sits on their butts watching reality TV and sports!! Yes, lets all watch the BIG GAME this week. While everyone watches TV, the movies, goes to the bar and drinks themselves silly, snorts drugs up their noses, the Republic dies.
I served 20+ years defending this nation. I served from Vietnam to the East-West German border. I saw the murdering thugs of Communism destroy millions of lives. Slaves in their own nations. Now, HERE, Americans, for a free cell phone, free hand outs, toss a nation, FOUNDED BY GOD FEARING, GOD BELIEVING MEN, FOUNDED ON THE BIBLE, throwing this Republic down the toilet. Great. Wonderful. When the Muzzies come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, declare Sharia Law and start chopping off the heads of the dope heads, homosexuals, nonbelievers, and anyone else that does not bow to their made up false god Al-Bundy and their religion's pedophile founder Moohamhocks. Yup, enjoy it fools. Throw away over 200 years of the greatest nation that God created and allowed to prosper.
Believe it or not folks, if you have not repented and asked the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob to forgive you of our sins, you are doomed!! HE IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THIS GARBAGE DUMP WE NOW HAVE!!!
Finally, a rare Gov't acronym that's not a cute misrepresentation of what a bill or program actually does (e.g. "SAFE" Act)
Wanna get HIT?
heck no
All government knows how to do is take money at the barrel of a gun. That epitomizes everything they do.
I am in complete and utter disbelief you said that. I'm putting your words up in my post as an example to all, to serve as a reminder.
“AMEN!”, Brother!!
Impeach the leaders, starting with Obama, and fire the rest.
Yep. They will blame and demonize the evil, greedy Insurance companies and the MSM will go with that.
Preach it, brother.
Thank You, Sir! All typed needed saying.
While it may be hidden from view for a time, consumers will eventually learn they are paying it, and not the company. Even the low information voters eventually “get it.”
This is true. True also is this is a known (even the low-information crowd eventually learns the truth). Final truth is the reason 30 million new low-information voters are being place up for legalization is to replace the defectors. All of which you knew, so consider this post as a low-information post already known by you, please.
I think you owe bastards an apology. :)
Thank you. My daily rant.
Thank you. My daily rant. :-)
Why not call it the “Supplemental Health Insurance Tax?”
Or even “Obamacare Supplemental Health Insurance Tax”.
If only the last five years of Obama were simple satire.
Toss in zoning and licensing restrictions that limit access and portability and you’ve got another government created mess aka a “market failure”.
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