Health tax is in flux. Now what?
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Lawmakers searching for a way to pay for health care reform are facing some rough waters.
Very rough.
Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has said repeatedly that health reform would be paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.
Baucus and others have made some progress through savings in Medicare, Medicaid and other programs.
On Wednesday, for instance, Vice President Biden said hospitals would reduce costs by $155 billion over 10 years. But nothing is final until that deal between the White House and business - and a similar one reached with drugmakers last month - is written into legislation.
And on the revenue side of the equation, there is still no apparent consensus.
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screw the population
those with millions live, those with out... let them fight it out
how republican of me
What's wrong with having reasonable premiums paid for by the people who are using the plan.........kind of like auto insurance? Why should the so called rich keep paying for everyone else, everyone should pay for themselves. What a novel idea! Newsflash – The definition of rich is being redefined by this administration, so watch out.
Let me explain something to all of you lemming liberal brainchildren. In order to give something "free" you have to pay for it. That means paying for it thru taxes, or borrowing even more money. Nothing is for free. I know you would all be for taxing the "rich", but, that is not fair, and will only make the "rich' pack their bags and leave (figuratively, such as moving corporations etc). If Obama continues to do that, we will have a major class warfare on our hands. Open your eyes, and don't just blindly follow this guy who wants the government to run everything. Eventualy the dollar will be worth nothing, and then you will see internal strife.
Obama promised those without healthcare they could join his healthcare plan.........................so where do we sign up?
Republicans really treat Americans as if we're a colleague in Congress....we're smarter.
I pay my medical insurer every month a premium, if we pass a health care bill of course I'm going to pay a higher tax rate, but I won't have to pay that $300.00 a month premium to a private insurer. The republicans are hoping Americans are stupid, and that this fact isn't understood by the average Jane and John.
Surprise, Surprise new taxes from the man who said tax breaks for everyone making under 250,000. Lots more to come!
Again and again, I don't CARE what this will cost or how it will be paid for, because the cost of not enacting serious reform will be much higher and may eventually bankrupt this country. Get it Done legislators!
Please quit digging in my pockets for my last dime!! Middle class will become poverty level before Obama and friends are finished with us. This is change I could do without! Everyone should pay for their own health care coverage, what is so unreasonable about that concept?
Whats wrong with health care in this nation? At one time, in our not so far past we were the leaders in health care, infant mortality and longevety led the way. Today we are advancing, but only in cost all other stats are headed in the wrong direction. Why do people go into medicine should be looked at, years ago people entered medicine to help people. They had their practice, today they enter for what reason, money, the old family doctors are gone, the doc that came to you when you were sick is gone, the country doctor that might collect his bill with a chicken, a loaf of bread or a jar of jelly are gone. Today the dollar rules the roost. Limited number of medical school slots, exessive schooling costs and a total refusal to look at those programs that other industrial nations use to provide medical care escape the American public as medical lobbist call the shots in Washington.
We need medical schools that will admit individuals that want to be doctors, we need a way of putting students through medical schools and we need doctors that are going into medicine to help people not to gain membership in the coutry club and have a reserved tee time.
If they can insure 46 million Americans for less than a trillion dolllars I'll be satisfied.
Hold onto your wallets America, here comes the thieves from D.C. and in the mean time, congress have exempt themselves from the very health care program that they're trying to force us into.
They shouldn't even threaten employers with taxation to cover health care, that will for certain cost MORE JOB LOSS! When will the Democrats learn that tax and spend is NOT the solution for economic recovery? NEVER!!
"And on the revenue side of the equation..."
Working people already pay enough for their own health care–I pay hundreds of dollars every month for my employer-sponsored health insurance, not to mention the couple thousand I just shelled out for my daughter's torn-ligament surgery–without being soaked to pay the medical bills of people too irresponsible to pay their own.
If Max Baucus increases the payroll tax on Montana workers, some of the lowest paid in the nation, to line the pockets of big business and special interests, he better not come home.
The financing of health care is a political shell game where the same dollars are saved but they keep appearing under different shells.
It's hard to understand where hospitals that are continually crying over late and insufficient medicare/medicaid payments can now come up with $155 billion over 10 years. With ~7500 hospitals in the US, my math says that works out to about $2 million per hospital per year of savings.
In most industries savings are realized by firing people so how many people will be laid off to support that $155 billion?
We would not be so in debt in Medicare & Medicad, if not for USA paying for all the ill-legals health problems. They don't pay tax, they aren't suppose to be here. Set up some bombs at the borders, maybe that will make them notice, that we are not going to take care of them. They won't take care of USA citizens, that do not have Insurance. We the Americans born here or the honest people who came to America the proper way.
Somewhere there will be a tax for all this. It just might be disguised as something else, or be put on something else.
Paying for it is easy.... Take the profit out of Health Care Insurance. That will cut the Health Care costs by 30% alone. People will not be burdened with High Premiums, High Deductables, and Co-Pays.
I would gladly pay a little higher taxes than have both me and my employer pay between $500 and $1200 per month for my families health.
And get Wall Street out. My health is not a commodity to be bought and sold on Wall Street.
How profitable is your Health?
Taxing is not the only area we should look at. Let's look at the HMOs, insurance companies, and other related businesses. Let us look at the medical community itself. Also, let's look at the other businesses that provide services for the medical community. You can't get blood from a stone!
Something this large should be put to a popular vote. Let us decide the way we get the care we need. But that's the problem with this system...we can't. We have to put all our trust into some idiots who have no grasp of what is going on in the U.S.
Searching for a way to pay for healthcare always ends up in our pockets looking for any loose change. You can think the rich will pay for everything, but gotta wonder that maybe they are running out of money to pay for all the losers who can't take care of themselves!! By the way the rich will be defined as middle class.
There is no way to avoid raising taxes; the money has to come from somewhere. That is a done deal. However, how about raising taxes on fast foods (AKA fat foods), alcohol and cigarettes? These are all harmful to our health if not used in moderation. This is a small price to pay for a national health care plan.
I think it's time for the President and the Democrats to step back , take a deep breath, and realize they cannot do immediately everything they might like to do. It took 15 plus years of Republican lies, stupidity, graft, deceipt and outright thieveryto get where we are today. If handled correctly (and i believe it will be)the Democrats will have many years to straighten out the mess the repubs have created. Let's not screw things up by trying to do too much too fast.
I'm 65 and even I can be patient. Change does not have to occur overnight!
SINGLE PAYER health care with bonus plans for the rich and famous (taxed!). Stop the madness.
The best solution to paying for health and keep many peoples taxes from going is to legalize the sale of marijuana and tax that high right out the gate. noone would complain about paying that tax and i am sure that would cover a large portion of the cost of healthcare. if politicians are willing to take bold steps for health care.