Posted on 03/26/2017 5:39:28 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Congress approved on Thursday night an Obamacare repeal package that serves as a double-edged sword for Republicans: while a boon to conservative senators running for president, it could jeopardize some of their GOP colleagues running for reelection in swing states in 2016.
The Senate voted, 52 to 47, on Thursday night to repeal large portions of Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood. The repeal was wrapped inside a budget reconciliation bill that needed a simple majority of 51 senators to make good on a longstanding promise to voters that a GOP-led Congress would eliminate large portions of Obamacare. But after months of pressure from conservatives, Senate leaders decided to add language to defund Planned Parenthood that not every Republican senator supports.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
More “Plan B” quietly in action!
Add this to the Jim Jordan bill in the house !
Let’s hope the hor passes it too.
2015? Would prefer 2017
They never needed 60 to repeal because the friggan bill was passed under budget reconcilliation, and was never reconcilled-the whole EFFN thing was illegal.
Send it over to the house and lets see who gets on board.
At this point, my best estimation is either next year Trump pulls something magical out of his hat or within a decade we have single payer, thanks to the great conservatives on the Freedom Caucus.
ObamaCare is a TAX bill:
Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes
Taxpayers are reminded that the President’s healthcare law is one of the largest tax increases in American history.
Obamacare contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses.
Arranged by their respective effective dates, below is the total list of all $500 billion-plus in tax hikes (over the next ten years) in Obamacare, where to find them in the bill, and how much your taxes are scheduled to go up as of today:
Taxes that took effect in 2010:
1. Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,961-1,971
2. Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113
3. “Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105
4. Tax on Innovator Drug Companies ($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,971-1,980
5. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike ($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,004
6. Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399
Taxes that took effect in 2011:
7. Medicine Cabinet Tax ($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957-1,959
8. HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959
Tax that took effect in 2012:
9. Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Min$/Jan 2012): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957
Taxes that take effect in 2013:
10. Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013): Creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income: Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 87-93
Capital Gains
Dividends
Other*
2012
15%
15%
35%
2013+
23.8%
43.4%
43.4%
*Other unearned income includes (for surtax purposes) gross income from interest, annuities, royalties, net rents, and passive income in partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations. It does not include municipal bond interest or life insurance proceeds, since those do not add to gross income. It does not include active trade or business income, fair market value sales of ownership in pass-through entities, or distributions from retirement plans. The 3.8% surtax does not apply to non-resident aliens.
11. Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax ($86.8 bil/Jan 2013): Current law and changes:
First $200,000
($250,000 Married)
Employer/Employee
All Remaining Wages
Employer/Employee
Current Law
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed
Obamacare Tax Hike
1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed
1.45%/2.35%
3.8% self-employed
Bill: PPACA, Reconciliation Act; Page: 2000-2003; 87-93
12. Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers ($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax. Exempts items retailing for <$100. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,980-1,986
13. High Medical Bills Tax ($15.2 bil/Jan 2013): Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). The new provision imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,994-1,995
14. Flexible Spending Account Cap – aka “Special Needs Kids Tax” ($13 bil/Jan 2013): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited). Indexed to inflation after 2013. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,388-2,389
15. Elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D ($4.5 bil/Jan 2013) Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,994
16. $500,000 Annual Executive Compensation Limit for Health Insurance Executives ($0.6 bil/Jan 2013). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,995-2,000
Taxes that take effect in 2014:
17. Individual Mandate Excise Tax (Jan 2014): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the higher of the following
1 Adult
2 Adults
3+ Adults
2014
1% AGI/$95
1% AGI/$190
1% AGI/$285
2015
2% AGI/$325
2% AGI/$650
2% AGI/$975
2016 +
2.5% AGI/$695
2.5% AGI/$1390
2.5% AGI/$2085
Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases (determined by HHS). Bill: PPACA; Page: 317-337
18. Employer Mandate Tax (Jan 2014): If an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $2000 for all full-time employees. Applies to all employers with 50 or more employees. If any employee actually receives coverage through the exchange, the penalty on the employer for that employee rises to $3000. If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer). Bill: PPACA; Page: 345-346
Combined score of individual and employer mandate tax penalty: $65 billion/10 years
19. Tax on Health Insurers ($60.1 bil/Jan 2014): Annual tax on the industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year. Phases in gradually until 2018. Fully-imposed on firms with $50 million in profits. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,986-1,993
Taxes that take effect in 2018:
20. Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans ($32 bil/Jan 2018): Starting in 2018, new 40 percent excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans ($10,200 single/$27,500 family). Higher threshold ($11,500 single/$29,450 family) for early retirees and high-risk professions. CPI +1 percentage point indexed. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,941-1,956
UNTIL we can get people to understand that this is NOT A MEDICAL BILL but a TAX BILL, and have it removed as such, nothing is going to be done to REPEAL AND REPLACE...
We were LIED to, it was written as a TAX BILL, and that is why bami and Barney Frank took Freddie Max and Fannie Mae and used that money to put into the fake bill that passed as ObamaCare because it was loosing money....
HFA knows this, the dems know this and the pubbies know this...remove it as a TAX BILL and then work on it to get rid of it period...
There is NOTHING in the Constitution that says we have to have FEDERAL MEDICAL CARE PLAN!!!
Get the GOVERNMENT out of our Health plans!!!
Y’all do realize that bill was essentially Ryan’s bill with planned parenthood defunding added?
It was Dec 2015 and did NOT repeal Obamacare. It was phrased largely as Ryan’s bill was. The Obamacare text remained, but fines were zeroed etc.
Note the phrasing . . . repealed large portions of Obamacare. Not repealed it entirely. Repealed portions of it.
To qualify for Reconciliation it had to look like Ryan’s text. They only controversy in it was Planned Parenthood, and that lost Collins’ vote. At that time Heller didn’t face the reality that Nevada is now blue, either.
You guys are weak. Really weak. You’re celebrating Ryan’s text getting through the Senate.
I agree wholeheartedly.
What magic would Harry Reid use?
(A. The constitution. Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings...”)
Good for Mitch and. the senate
An old episode of GOPe Kabuki Theatre. One of my favorites - an unforgettable performance!
But GOPe Kabuki Theatre cannot continue to produce these high quality episodes without your support. Please call and pledge today! For a pledge of $100 or more, we’ll send you all eight seasons (2009-2017) on DVD.
Call within the hour and we’ll throw in some Celtic Thunder and Andre Rieu!
Young man in my church.
Mid 20’s, single, volunteer fire dept/EMT.
Works a part time job, and as a substitute teacher - trying to get hired full time.
Told me today that he paid a $800 fine on his taxes rather than pay for health care.
This is not the Amerika that I knew.
A friend of ours says TurboTax has you paying the fine, if you use that software, as the EO to not pay is ‘vague.’
Does he know that he did NOT have to do that and that the IRS this year is NOT requiring proof of insurance?
Obamacare is dead because there is no ENFORCED “individual mandate.” No one seems to have figured that out yet.
I don’t know if Trump did this or the IRS didn’t have staff but there is NO required insurance signature this year. Your friend wasted $800.
Tell him to click the boxes saying he was insured all year. They can’t ask you to prove it.
Yep, a nothingburger.
I do hope that Trump's son-in-law's new SWAT Team can be something good for healthcare cost reduction. I hope they go after healthcare/Medicare/Medicaid waste and fraud, frivolous lawsuits, price fixing, FDA games, pharma games, insurance company games, etc.
IDK. I will ask him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.