“Obamacare encourages employers to dump coverage on two fronts. First, several provisions will increase the cost of employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), including new insurance requirements and mandates, and a tax on high-cost health plans. Employers who don’t offer a minimum level of coverage deemed essential by the federal government will face a penalty of $2,000 per worker, but as the authors point out, Obamacare’s other ‘requirements will increase medical costs for many companies. It’s important to note that the penalty for not offering coverage is set significantly below these costs.'”
“House Republicans have targeted for repeal a tax on tanning-bed services meant to offset costs of the new healthcare law. Rep. Michael Grimm (N.Y.) and 23 other Republicans have co-sponsored legislation to repeal the 10 percent tax included in last year’s healthcare overhaul. While a tax on tanning beds might seem like a minor issue, Grimm argues it is a serious matter, as the tax hurts small businesses and the economy. “
“One of the key provisions in President Barack Obama’s health care reform law — his preferred method for getting Medicare costs under control — is facing a groundswell of opposition from unexpected corners.
Several House Democrats have signed on to support a bill to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel created by the law that is supposed to help control rising costs in Medicare. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a prominent supporter of the law, is now actively lobbying for its repeal, too.”
“Consider people reaching the age of 65 this year. Under ObamaCare, the average amount spent on these enrollees over the remainder of their lives will fall by about $36,000 at today’s prices. That sum of money is equivalent to about three years of benefits. For 55-year-olds, the spending decrease is about $62,000 — or the equivalent of six years of benefits. For 45-year-olds, the loss is more than $105,000, or nine years of benefits.”
“Obamacare’s number-one idea for improving health care quality and reducing costs is to promote something called ‘accountable care organizations’ in Medicare. That effort is sinking like a stone, because it – like the rest of this sweeping law – is premised on the fatal conceit that government experts can direct the market better than millions of consumers making their own decisions.”
“Typically, demonstration programs exist to prove the effectiveness of a reform proposal before implementing it nationwide. This was apparently forgotten in the drafting of ObamaCare, which relies heavily on accountable care organizations (ACOs) to curb runaway spending in Medicare and the health care system at large… Unfortunately, the authors of ObamaCare didn’t wait around to see how effective ACOs would actually be before including them as a main cost-reduction strategy in their health care overhaul.”
“The cost and quality of healthcare will get worse because of healthcare reform rules that let the federal government review rates and set limits on how insurance companies spend their money, small businesses and insurance agents said Thursday.”
“A key government experiment that set out to lower costs and coordinate care for Medicare patients — now the blueprint for an innovation the Obama administration is trying to move to a national scale — has failed to save a substantial amount of money. The five-year test enlisted 10 leading health systems around the country and offered financial bonuses if they could save enough by treating older patients more efficiently while providing high-quality care.”
“Despite advice from most free-market analysis, some Republican governors are executing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) by establishing Health Benefits Exchanges. These governors dislike PPACA, but they believe that exchanges can be vehicles for more choice than the federal law anticipates.
But I think that the real news is how much difficulty states that want to implement PPACA as fast as possible are having. “
“Are small-business owners taking advantage of a new tax credit made available last year under the Affordable Care Act?
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, an advocacy group that has been critical of the health-care law, says no – and offers its own research indicating that owners aren’t finding the tax credit useful or applicable to their companies… The SBE Council polled a random sample of 304 small-business owners and found that only 7% have taken advantage of the health-care tax credit.”