There were two unexpected surprises in the course of the ruling. Number one, Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by George W. Bush and opposed by then Senator Barrack Obama, voted to uphold the healthcare bill. He proved to be the swing vote in the 5-4 decision. No surprise, this angered many conservatives who felt that Roberts betrayed them. Back in 2009, while voting against Roberts' confirmation, Senator Barrack Obama argued that Roberts lacked a heart and sided with the strong while opposing the weak*. I can't help but wonder if President Obama still feels the same way about him now. Can we expect to see the two of them sharing a beer in the near future?
The second surprise rocked many people like a Mike Tyson uppercut. When the healthcare bill was being pushed back in 2009, we were consistently told by Obama, Pelosi and crew that the individual mandate was not a tax. Many thought that the individual mandate would be struck down on the grounds of our Constitution's Commerce Clause. But in an unexpected twist, the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate on the grounds that it is a tax! Huh??
Here's what I find most troubling........ Barrack Obama was a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years. His specialty? Constitutional law! Are we to believe that a 12-year Constitutional law professor did not know that the individual mandate was not a tax? Or did the President flat out lie to the American people to get them to buy into his controversial healthcare plan?
So......... what does the Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, mean for all of us? Here are a few of the other highlights (or lowlights) depending on how you feel about it: **/***
- Healthcare coverage will now be available for more than 30 million people who are currently uninsured. An estimated 18 million will go under Medicaid. States will receive federal funding to add more low income people to the program.
- Drug and medical device companies will see roughly $47 billion dollars in new taxes. This, in all likelihood, will cause overall healthcare cost to rise.
- The Flexible Spending Accounts will cap out at $2500. This will be a big blow to middle class families with special needs children.
- There is an Indoor Tanning Services Tax of 10%.
- The Medical Itemized Deduction Hurdle will be raised from the current 7.5% to 10% in 2013. The is the hurdle that must be met before you can take the deduction on your federal taxes. Another change that will be felt mostly by the middle class.
- The Medicine Cabinet Tax took effect in 2011. This tax prohibits the reimbursement for over-the-counter medicine from employee's Health Savings Accounts.
- Insurance companies will no longer be able to drop people from coverage if they get sick. Along the same lines, they will not be able to deny coverage for people with pre-existing conditions
- It's estimated that small businesses will see $52 billion in new taxes
- Companies with more than 50 employees will be fined $2000 per worker if the company does not provide health insurance and any of their employees receives federal healthcare subsidies.
- Each year $125 million will go to subsidize school-based healthcare centers and programs to reduce teen pregnancy. There is no requirement to inform the parents of the services received, including abortions.
- Many doctors are considering abandoning any government sponsored healthcare insurance, stating that the regulations are too high and the reimbursement is too low.
- Parents can keep their children on their healthcare plans until the age of 26
While campaigning, Obama promised that households making less than $250,000 would not see a tax increase while he was in office. Hmmm........
I guess I have to agree with VP Joe Biden in the sense that this is definitely a big f*ckin' deal....
I guess I have to agree with VP Joe Biden in the sense that this is definitely a big f*ckin' deal....
kw
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