Keith Hennessey:
1. 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500 (individuals) / $23,000 (families). Amounts are indexed for inflation by CPI-U + 1% – begins in 2013 – $149 B tax increase
2. Additional 0.5% Medicare (Hospital Insurance) tax on wages in excess of $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers) – begins in 2013 – $54 B tax increase
3. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of branded drugs – begins in 2010 – $22 B tax increase
4. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices – begins in 2010 – $19 B tax increase
5. Impose annual fee on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices – begins in 2010 – $60 B tax increase
6. Cut in half (to $500K) the amount of an executive’s compensation that a health plan can deduct from its corporate income taxes – begins in 2013 – $600 million tax increase
7. Impose 5% excise tax on cosmetic surgery and similar procedures – begins for surgery in 2010 – $6 B tax increase!
Even NPR was calling that last item the “Bo-Tax”. I rather like “Tax for the Mammaries”, myself.
And they are already moving to eliminate benefits, witness the new recommendations for mammograms that a government panel suddenly announced. Bet your life that things like that will not be “recommendations” after the government takes over health care. They will be decrees.
And we will be collectively screwed.
What I see happening if this beast of a bill escapes the Senate:
Taxes will explode exponentially – because costs will be vastly greater than what they are currently predicting.
Insurance costs will not decrease. In fact, the price for insurance will climb rapidly.
The health care system will be unable to absorb the additional load and quality will decrease.
Benefits will be steadily taken away as costs spiral out of control.
The bureaucracy will multiply faster than the swine flu and will be even more pernicious.
The government will be into every detail of every, single American’s lives.
Abortion will be funded by the tax dollars of Americans, whether those taxpayers agree with abortion or not.
Millions of early retirees who currently have bridge health insurance (until they can obtain Medicare) through their employers will lose that and they will be thrown onto the “public plan”.
Unemployment will become permanently high, probably above the 10% level, as it is in many European countries today.
And many more bad things.
Do you really want Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi running your health care?
Better start calling, better start writing. This thing has to be stopped.