Pros And Cons Of Obamacare
Obamacare Pros
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office lists the advantages of Obamacare:
The Act was designed to reduce overall health care costs by making services available to the 32 million who currently can't get insurance. They often use a hospital emergency room as their primary care physician, increasing costs for everyone. This starts in 2014.
It requires that all plans cover 10 essential health benefits. Preventive services are free, which lowers health care costs by treating diseases before they reach an expensive crisis.
For people who can't afford health insurance, the Federal government will pay the states to add them to Medicaid. The income requirement is expanded up to 133% of the Federal poverty level - roughly $31,000 …show more content…
It increases to $325 (or 2% of income) in 2015, and $695 (or 2.5% of income) in 2016. (Find out how to calculate it in Obamacare Taxes)
About 4 million people, or 1.2% of the population, will wind up paying the tax rather than purchase health insurance. The CBO estimates this will cost them $54 billion.(Source: Washington Post Factchecker, Tax Breaks vs Tax Hikes, July 6, 2012)
Taxes were raised in 2013 on one million individuals on incomes exceeding $200,000 and four million couples filing jointly on incomes exceeding $250,000. They would pay a total of 2.35% (up from 1.45%) Medicare taxes on income above the threshold. They also pay an additional 3.8% Medicare taxes. This applies to the lesser of income from dividends, capital gains, rent and royalties or income above the threshold. (Source: About.com, Tax Impacts of Supreme Court's Health Care Decision, July 3, 2012; Smart Money, What Obamacare Means for Taxes, June 28, 2012)
In 2013, medical-device manufacturers and importers paid a 2.3% excise tax. Indoor tanning services pay a 10% excise tax. This could discourage those businesses from hiring new
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office lists the advantages of Obamacare:
The Act was designed to reduce overall health care costs by making services available to the 32 million who currently can't get insurance. They often use a hospital emergency room as their primary care physician, increasing costs for everyone. This starts in 2014.
It requires that all plans cover 10 essential health benefits. Preventive services are free, which lowers health care costs by treating diseases before they reach an expensive crisis.
For people who can't afford health insurance, the Federal government will pay the states to add them to Medicaid. The income requirement is expanded up to 133% of the Federal poverty level - roughly $31,000 …show more content…
It increases to $325 (or 2% of income) in 2015, and $695 (or 2.5% of income) in 2016. (Find out how to calculate it in Obamacare Taxes)
About 4 million people, or 1.2% of the population, will wind up paying the tax rather than purchase health insurance. The CBO estimates this will cost them $54 billion.(Source: Washington Post Factchecker, Tax Breaks vs Tax Hikes, July 6, 2012)
Taxes were raised in 2013 on one million individuals on incomes exceeding $200,000 and four million couples filing jointly on incomes exceeding $250,000. They would pay a total of 2.35% (up from 1.45%) Medicare taxes on income above the threshold. They also pay an additional 3.8% Medicare taxes. This applies to the lesser of income from dividends, capital gains, rent and royalties or income above the threshold. (Source: About.com, Tax Impacts of Supreme Court's Health Care Decision, July 3, 2012; Smart Money, What Obamacare Means for Taxes, June 28, 2012)
In 2013, medical-device manufacturers and importers paid a 2.3% excise tax. Indoor tanning services pay a 10% excise tax. This could discourage those businesses from hiring new