Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the new federal health care law constitutional last Thursday, analysts have been busy dissecting its future impact.
Though much remains to be seen as more facets unfold, a few things are clear already: Unless Congress repeals the law, it will raise taxes on a long list of goods and services, and it will make everyday Americans complicit in subsidizing abortions through insurance.
"The Affordable Care Act was used as a vehicle for hijacking health care reform to force a radical anti-life agenda on the American people," said Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life. "The law forcibly and unfairly intertwines all Americans and their hard-earned money with the abortion industry."
The law requires insurance companies participating in federal health care exchanges to impose a surcharge of at least $1 per person each month to pay for the abortions obtained by women in the insurance pool, and to keep this fact hidden before consumers enroll.
It also is one of the top 10 single largest tax hikes in history: Over the next 10 years, it is expected to take $675 billion of dollars above what taxpayers are currently paying, in a variety of forms — including some that will take effect as early as next year.
One of the largest is the new 0.9 percent payroll tax hike for individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples earning over $250,000, which kicks in next year, said Nick Kasprak, an analyst and programmer at The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan tax research organization based in Washington, D.C.
Also, "there are a lot of tiny ones," he added. "Changes to medical savings accounts — you can't use those to pay for over-the-counter medicine anymore. It limits the value of these tax-free accounts. Annual fees on insurance companies, manufacturers of prescription drugs — they all get passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. The deduction for medical expenses has been changed, so you can't deduct as much. They all add up to a fair amount."
As a result, several Republican governors have said they simply will ignore ObamaCare until after the November elections, in case a new crop of lawmakers finds the legislative will to repeal it.
"Today's ruling crystallizes all that's at stake in November's election," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said last Thursday. "The only way to stop Barack Obama's budget-busting health care takeover is by electing a new president. ObamaCare increases taxes, grows the size of government and puts bureaucrats over patients while doing nothing to improve the economy."
Contact: Karla Dial
Soource: CitizenLink