CBO: Obamacare penalty to hit one million low-income Americans

[NYcarbineer]

The Washington Free Beacon is one of those rightwing extremist sites that if we wanted to apply USMB conservative standards to we could simply dismiss as too biased to even be worth discussing.

 

[g5000]

ObamaCare penalty to hit one million low-income Americans | Fox News

A chart accompanying the report revealed that 200,000 of those paying the penalty earn less than 100 percent of the poverty line. An additional 800,000 are considered low-income, earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level.

Something Fox News did not tell you is that the ACA Medicaid expansion provides health insurance to everyone earning less than 138% of the poverty level.

So if a person earning less than that is paying a penalty, it is because their state turned down the Medicaid expansion and left them without insurance.

Fox News "forgot" to mention that, I guess.

These hack partisan "news" channels are champions of the lie of omission.

 

[boedicca]

Then just go read the report at the CBO site, bub.

It says the exact same thing.

 

[NYcarbineer]

btw, it's not 'not paying the penalty'. It's 'not getting the tax break'.

 

[g5000]

Fox News reports 1 million low income Americans will pay the penalty.

Of course they only focused on one part of the overall picture. This is a classic lie of omission.

Let's check another media outlet, shall we?

87% Of Uninsured Can Avoid ObamaCare Mandate Tax: CBO

Almost none of the uninsured will end up paying the ObamaCare mandate penalty, according to an updated analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, which found that 87% will be able to claim an exemption.

According to the CBO's latest estimate, out of the 30 million people who will still be uninsured in 2016, just 4 million will end up paying any tax penalty, despite the law's requirement that everyone buy government-approved insurance. Two years ago, the CBO figured 6 million would pay the penalty.

Fox said only one million would end up paying the penalty. Your article says it's actually four. They say "Half of the 4 million now expected to pay the penalty will have incomes below $35,000, the CBO found." Where's the lie of omission? According to your article Fox has actually underestimated.

Fox is saying one million of those 4 million are low income.

 

[g5000]

The expansion of Medicaid, effective in January 2014, fills in historical gaps in Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults and has the potential to extend health coverage to millions of currently uninsured individuals. This expansion essentially sets a national Medicaid income eligibility level of 138% of poverty (about $27,000 for a family of three2) for adults. The expansion was intended to be national and to be the vehicle for covering low-income individuals, with premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage serving as the vehicle for covering people with higher incomes. However, the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling made the expansion of Medicaid optional for states, and as of March 2014, 24 states did not plan to implement the expansion in 2014 (Figure 1).

The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation



So those one million low income people that Fox News is crying alligator tears over are actually victims of those red states which turned down the Medicaid money.

 

[boedicca]

ObamaCare penalty to hit one million low-income Americans | Fox News

A chart accompanying the report revealed that 200,000 of those paying the penalty earn less than 100 percent of the poverty line. An additional 800,000 are considered low-income, earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level.

Another lie of omission. Something Fox News did not tell you is that the ACA Medicaid expansion provides health insurance to everyone earning less than 138% of the poverty level.

So if a person earning less than that is paying a penalty, it is because their state turned down the Medicaid expansion and left them without insurance.

Fox News "forgot" to mention that, I guess.

Reading comprehension is clearly not your strong suit.

In addition, the report estimated that under Obamacare 30 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2016.

“The central promise of the new health care law was that by bringing down the cost of insurance and making it more affordable, virtually all Americans would have good health insurance at reasonable rates,” said Daniel Garza, executive director of the LIBRE Initiative, a nonprofit organization devoted to economic freedom for Hispanic Americans.

“Instead, 30 million Americans will be uninsured,” he said. “And four million will pay tax penalties for not complying with the law.

“Moreover, this administration has hit a new low by penalizing 200,000 of America’s most needy,” Garza said.

The CBO report noted that many uninsured Americans would be exempt from the penalty in 2016. The government will exempt unauthorized immigrants, incarcerated individuals, members of Indian tribes, people with earnings so low they are not required to file an income tax return, and individuals whose premium exceeds 8 percent of their income.

The CBO report estimates that 23 million uninsured people will be give exemptions.

CBO and JCT estimate that 23 million uninsured people in 2016 will qualify for one or more of those exemptions. Of the remaining 7 million uninsured people, CBO and JCT estimate that some will be granted exemptions from the penalty because of hardship or for other reasons. Among the uninsured people subject to the penalty, many are expected to voluntarily report on their tax returns that they are uninsured and to pay the amount owed. However, other people will try to avoid payments. CBO and JCT’s estimates of the number of people who will pay penalties account for likely compliance rates as well as the ability of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to administer and collect the penalty payments.

Payments of Penalties for Being Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act: 2014 Update - CBO

 

[g5000]

Then just go read the report at the CBO site, bub.

It says the exact same thing.

Why read the source when you can hear about it through a partisan outlet filter? It tastes better after it has passed through the kidneys at Fox News.

 

[boedicca]

The expansion of Medicaid, effective in January 2014, fills in historical gaps in Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults and has the potential to extend health coverage to millions of currently uninsured individuals. This expansion essentially sets a national Medicaid income eligibility level of 138% of poverty (about $27,000 for a family of three2) for adults. The expansion was intended to be national and to be the vehicle for covering low-income individuals, with premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage serving as the vehicle for covering people with higher incomes. However, the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling made the expansion of Medicaid optional for states, and as of March 2014, 24 states did not plan to implement the expansion in 2014 (Figure 1).

The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation



So those one million low income people that Fox News is crying alligator tears over are actually victims of those red states which turned down the Medicaid money.

What happens to the people in expanded Medicaid states when the Feds stop subsidizing the expanded coverage?

 

[g5000]

ObamaCare penalty to hit one million low-income Americans | Fox News

A chart accompanying the report revealed that 200,000 of those paying the penalty earn less than 100 percent of the poverty line. An additional 800,000 are considered low-income, earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level.

Another lie of omission. Something Fox News did not tell you is that the ACA Medicaid expansion provides health insurance to everyone earning less than 138% of the poverty level.

So if a person earning less than that is paying a penalty, it is because their state turned down the Medicaid expansion and left them without insurance.

Fox News "forgot" to mention that, I guess.

Reading comprehension is clearly not your strong suit.

In addition, the report estimated that under Obamacare 30 million Americans will still be uninsured by 2016.

“The central promise of the new health care law was that by bringing down the cost of insurance and making it more affordable, virtually all Americans would have good health insurance at reasonable rates,” said Daniel Garza, executive director of the LIBRE Initiative, a nonprofit organization devoted to economic freedom for Hispanic Americans.

“Instead, 30 million Americans will be uninsured,” he said. “And four million will pay tax penalties for not complying with the law.

“Moreover, this administration has hit a new low by penalizing 200,000 of America’s most needy,” Garza said.

The CBO report noted that many uninsured Americans would be exempt from the penalty in 2016. The government will exempt unauthorized immigrants, incarcerated individuals, members of Indian tribes, people with earnings so low they are not required to file an income tax return, and individuals whose premium exceeds 8 percent of their income.

The CBO report estimates that 23 million uninsured people will be give exemptions.

CBO and JCT estimate that 23 million uninsured people in 2016 will qualify for one or more of those exemptions. Of the remaining 7 million uninsured people, CBO and JCT estimate that some will be granted exemptions from the penalty because of hardship or for other reasons. Among the uninsured people subject to the penalty, many are expected to voluntarily report on their tax returns that they are uninsured and to pay the amount owed. However, other people will try to avoid payments. CBO and JCT’s estimates of the number of people who will pay penalties account for likely compliance rates as well as the ability of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to administer and collect the penalty payments.

Payments of Penalties for Being Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act: 2014 Update - CBO

Absolutely no mention that many of those low income people are uninsured because of their state governments.

 

[g5000]

The expansion of Medicaid, effective in January 2014, fills in historical gaps in Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults and has the potential to extend health coverage to millions of currently uninsured individuals. This expansion essentially sets a national Medicaid income eligibility level of 138% of poverty (about $27,000 for a family of three2) for adults. The expansion was intended to be national and to be the vehicle for covering low-income individuals, with premium tax credits for Marketplace coverage serving as the vehicle for covering people with higher incomes. However, the June 2012 Supreme Court ruling made the expansion of Medicaid optional for states, and as of March 2014, 24 states did not plan to implement the expansion in 2014 (Figure 1).

The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation



So those one million low income people that Fox News is crying alligator tears over are actually victims of those red states which turned down the Medicaid money.

What happens to the people in expanded Medicaid states when the Feds stop subsidizing the expanded coverage?

Starting in about 2019, if I recall the year correctly, the federal subsidy to the states will drop to 90 percent of the cost of the expansion. The states will have to pay 10 percent of the added cost from that point forward.

This is why I frequently have said that ObamaCare will not only bankrupt the federal budget but the state budgets as well. When the ten percent cost kicks in, the states will have to come up with those funds through tax hikes or budget cuts in other areas.

But I don't believe that is why the states turned the money down. The GOP does not want a bunch of voters suddenly acquring insurance and making that immediate connection to Obama.

 

[g5000]

As I have also frequently said, the issues ads for 2014 and 2016 write themselves.

"I should have insurance by now, but the Republicans turned down the Medicaid expansion. I'm a hard working family man working three shit jobs (one at McDonald's), and they fucked us."

Or words to that effect.

 

[Little-Acorn]

One of the funnier parts of this thread, is where the liberals complain that since the states elected not to rob Peter (the middle class) to pay Paul (lower incomes) by expanding Medicare, this refusal to steal makes the resulting Obamacare penalties "The States' fault".

Sort of like blaming the homeless guy's condition, on the guy who just cashed his paycheck at the bank, since the guy didn't rob the bank and give the stolen money to the homeless guy.

This bizarre and warped view of the leftists, becomes easier to understand (though no easier for an honest person to stomach) if you remember that the leftists don't believe in private property rights. What you earn is NOT yours. It can be taken from you if some govt official thinks someone else "needs it more".

 

[g5000]

One of the funnier parts of this thread, is where the liberals complain that since the states elected not to rob Peter (the middle class) to pay Paul (lower incomes) by expanding Medicare, this refusal to steal makes the resulting Obamacare penalties "The States' fault".

Sort of like blaming the homeless guy's condition, on the guy who just cashed his paycheck at the bank, since the guy didn't rob the bank and give the stolen money to the homeless guy.

This bizarre and warped view of the leftists, becomes easier to understand (though no easier for an honest person to stomach) if you remember that the leftists don't believe in private property rights. What you earn is NOT yours. It can be taken from you if some govt official thinks someone else "needs it more".

The states are already paying the extra costs of the Medicaid expansion (Peter has already been robbed), so they are retarded for not accepting the Medicaid cash which came out of their own pockets. They basically paid for it, and are letting other states take the money.

Some of the wiser Republican governors have realized this and accepted the Medicaid expansion money. People like you call such pragmatists "RINOs".

 

[NYcarbineer]

Then just go read the report at the CBO site, bub.

It says the exact same thing.

Oh gee, look, she's saying exactly what I say when RWnuts try to summarily dismiss mediamatters, or the huffingtonpost.

You're a slow learner, but at least you're a learner.

 

[g5000]

Here is the source CBO report: http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45397-IndividualMandate.pdf

CBO and JCT have estimated that about 30 million nonelderly residents will be uninsured in 2016 but that the majority of them will be exempt from the penalty.

Those who are exempt include:

 Unauthorized immigrants, who are prohibited from receiving almost all Medicaid benefits and all subsidies through the insurance exchanges;

Hear that? Illegals are not eligible for Medicaid.

It's the LAW.

Moving on...

 People with income low enough that they are not required to file an income tax return;

 People who have income below 138 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (commonly referred to as the federal poverty level) and are ineligible for Medicaid because the state in which they reside has not expanded eligibility by 2016 under the option provided in the ACA;

Say WHAT?!?!?!

DID FOX GET IT WRONG?

That says that those below 138% of the poverty level do not have to pay the penalty! Right?

Sounds to me like Fox New actually lied!

 People whose premium exceeds a specified share of their income (8 percent in 2014 and indexed over time); and

 People who are incarcerated or are members of Indian tribes.

 

[g5000]

Here is what Fox News said in the OP link:

A chart accompanying the report revealed that 200,000 of those paying the penalty earn less than 100 percent of the poverty line.

You can see the chart in the link in my last post.

Since the people who earn less than 138% of the poverty level are exempt if they live in a state "which has not expanded eligibility by 2016", then those 200,000 people below 100 percent who will have to pay the penalty are obviously people who live in states which did expand eligibility.

That is fascinating. And this is why it is always best to go to the source.

For some reason, even though they are eligible for the Medicaid expansion, there are people did not get it and who will therefore have to pay the penalty for not getting their free Medicaid.

One can only guess why someone who qualifies for the free Medicaid insurance would not get it and end up paying the penalty instead.