- Jun 6, 2007
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If Democrats pass this American Rescue Plan of theirs into law it will be conclusive proof Democrats cannot handle the job of being stewards of America's finances. One area of their bill that demonstrates this clearly is the area which addresses health insurance premium credits for health insurance that people buy on the individual insurance exchanges, the program created by the Affordable Care Act. Essentially what the program is about is that for people that buy individual health insurance on these exchanges and who have a household income anywhere from 133% of the Federal Poverty Level to 400% of the Federal poverty level the federal government will pay the Lion's share of their total insurance premium costs the Federal Government will pick-up the share of 97.93 % to 91.17 % respectively. Well what Democrats will be doing in their Pandemic relief bill is that for people that receive even as little as one week claim of unemployment compensation in 2021 the government will cover one-hundred percent of their insurance premiums from insurance acquired on the exchanges. The government will not consider one penny of these Americans investment income in determining their eligibility for this premium credit, this taxpayer could have a million dollars of investment income doesn't matter Democrats are still giving that taxpayer free health insurance; and remember were talking health insurance here not a few hundreds dollars of credit a 2021 family silver insurance plan for a family of four on average in America cost over seventeen thousand dollars on the exchanges. If a Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of a corporation acted like these Democrats' here the Board and Stockholders of the Corporation would think the Executive had a mental or emotional breakdown or a crisis level drug or alcohol problem and conduct an intervention to remove the person from office. If one looks at the balance of their initiatives in this area in their bill the Democrats just don't get as a nation we are steadily moving to a debt crisis that will have severe and long-term negative consequences that will significantly hurt interest rates in America and the value of the dollar our leaders cannot be reckless in their spending they cannot be wasteful they have to be careful in their spending!
Democrats in their bill destroy the integrity of this program. The way the program works is that this credit can be taken as an advance credit so when you sign up for the health insurance you also sign up for the advance credit get approved so on a monthly basis you only have to pay your portion of the premium the Federal Government on a monthly basis will send the insurance company the Federal government's portion of the premium. The program is not a foolish program if it turns out your yearly income was above what was entered during the credit application process your share of the premium is recalculated with the actual income figure and your tax bill is raised accordingly to reflect your short come in the premium payments there is an exception for taxpayers whose household income is below 400% of the poverty level their tax increase is capped according to their income level with people with incomes between 300% to 400% of the PL having the highest cap at $2700 for (2021). What Democrats in their bill do is beginning for the tax year of 2020 and afterwards they waive any tax adjustment for these taxpayers whose income is below 400 percent of the PL where the adjustment would be because these taxpayers actual income was below their application projected income. This federal government expense of paying health insurance premiums for the exchange market is a big expense for the Federal gov't the American people need individual Americans to bear their share of the insurance premium cost they can afford this program set-up achieves this fairness goal. It is irresponsible for Democrats to let these taxpayers off in paying their fair share of the premium cost also it is incredibly stupid for protecting the integrity of the system because the Democrats have thrown away the deterrent for these taxpayers against inaccurately estimating their income during the application process because if up to this point if they did so they would bet an increased tax bill at the end of the year. I am not hard hearted to the American people's plight on this issue caused by difficulties brought about by the Covid 19 Pandemic; I think it would be good policy for the tax years of 2020 and 2021 to waive any tax adjustment for premium underpayment for taxpayers that received unemployment compensation and whose income was under 400 percent of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level) and for such income taxpayers who were not unemployed during those tax years reduce the caps by twenty five percent. Further for taxpayers whose income was above 400% of FPL and received unemployment compensation during the year for that year give that taxpayer a pass on five-thousand dollars of underpayment of premiums and for such income level Americans that were not unemployed for any underpayment of premiums the federal government cuts the amount by twenty-five percent in determining the corresponding increase in taxes. For all affected taxpayers from this program If a taxpayer wants they can elect to pay half the tax increase in the year incurred and half the next year.
Democrats further dramatically damage the fiscal responsibility of this program by doing the following. As stated this program works by giving a taxpayer a credit to pay their health insurance premium cost the taxpayer pays 2.07% to 9.83% of their total premium costs (TPC) depending on whether their household income is 133% of the FPL up to 400% of the FPL and the Federal government pays the balance of the TPC in the form of a credit. The Democrats in their bill want to increase the value of the credit for taxpayers with incomes up to 150% of FPL where they will pay zero percent of the TPC and for taxpayers with household incomes immediately over 150% of the FPL up to household incomes of 400% the respective taxpayer will pay from .01 % to 8.5% of TPC on a graduated scale with the federal government paying the balance of the TPC in the form of a credit. Considering the fact that the nation is in an alarming financial hole with trillion dollar per year budget deficits as far as the eye can see and the annual health insurance premiums in recent years have been modest there is no justification for lowering the taxpayers share here. Also most noteworthy the Democrats in their bill expand this insurance premium credit to everyone there is a provision in their bill that states that for taxpayers with household incomes over 400 % of the poverty level such taxpayer will only have to pay 8.55 of the TPC and the federal government will provide a credit for the balance. For the same reason referenced above that the country is in bad financial condition this expansion of the health insurance credit program is a bad idea. Needless to say Congress and the President desperately need to reform the Affordable Care Act this writer is a fan of the Act but the Act has problems when the Obama administration was putting the bill together many experts told the administration that all the mandates would add thirty to forty percent to the cost of insurance but the administration dismissed them and as it turned out the experts were right. As a centrist on this health care issue that doesn't want to see the political right prevail with their rolling back the clock to before the ACA with people with pre-existing conditions going thru hell over their health care needs and doesn't want to see the political left prevail with their socialized medicine agenda that will bring low quality and long wait care the answer is well known. The bipartisan criticism of the ACA is that there is no cost controls in the system. The path that I see that is possible is allow a modified ACA system where people get to select which system they want to participate in. Specifically, Congress creates a five panel commission the Democrats pick two seats and the Republicans pick two seats and the President picks the chairperson and his two party seats and for the first six year of the commission all five candidates have to be confirmed by a sixty vote majority in the majority so the nation will see middle of the roaders after six years only the chairperson has to confirmed this way. Their charge is to create a body of lower cost mandates that still provide a good health safety net for people, for their directive Congress would have three months to override, the Senate filibuster rules don't apply and for the commissions mandate to be blocked both sixty percent of the Senate and House would have to vote against it. Then people in the individual exchanges would get to chose to they want an insurance plan that follows the ACA mandates or one that follows the modified ACA mandates which will be significantly cheaper and this will go a long way to answering the pleas of the American people for affordable health insurance and health services.
What is interesting in the Democrats change to the ACA in their Pandemic relief bill is how they did not take the opportunity to give some Americans a real good taste of their future in the Medicare for all system. By that I mean that Democrats want a Medicare for all system where people just go into their Doctor's office and present their Medicare Card for the service provided and pay nothing well guys that is what the Medicaid system is today. So why didn't the Democrats in their bill shift those Americans with household incomes up to one hundred fifty percent of the FPL who will be paying no insurance premiums in the new Democrat system into the Medicaid system hell the Federal government would have been saving more money because Medicaid insurance is cheaper than exchange insurance Democrats would have had more money to spend elsewhere; might it be that the Medicaid system which often doesn't even pay health care providers their costs isn't as good a health care system as the private insurance market system and ordinary Americans know this and Democrats did not want to anger them. Democrats should let this decision jar their conscience that a Medicare for all system that won't pay at least many health care providers their cost won't end well for America! The general Democrat idea of paying a proportionally increased percentage insurance premium credit for those Americans with household incomes over 400% of FPL is not a bad idea that is part of the answer in solving America's cost related health care problem. But the Democrats should acquire that and President Joe Biden's platform for capping out of pocket deductibles for families with incomes below 400% of the FPL at one thousand dollars per year and their good drug price ideas et al. in a negotiation with Republicans and give Republicans this modified mandate package they twist themselves into a pretzel over trying to acquire!
Democrats in their bill destroy the integrity of this program. The way the program works is that this credit can be taken as an advance credit so when you sign up for the health insurance you also sign up for the advance credit get approved so on a monthly basis you only have to pay your portion of the premium the Federal Government on a monthly basis will send the insurance company the Federal government's portion of the premium. The program is not a foolish program if it turns out your yearly income was above what was entered during the credit application process your share of the premium is recalculated with the actual income figure and your tax bill is raised accordingly to reflect your short come in the premium payments there is an exception for taxpayers whose household income is below 400% of the poverty level their tax increase is capped according to their income level with people with incomes between 300% to 400% of the PL having the highest cap at $2700 for (2021). What Democrats in their bill do is beginning for the tax year of 2020 and afterwards they waive any tax adjustment for these taxpayers whose income is below 400 percent of the PL where the adjustment would be because these taxpayers actual income was below their application projected income. This federal government expense of paying health insurance premiums for the exchange market is a big expense for the Federal gov't the American people need individual Americans to bear their share of the insurance premium cost they can afford this program set-up achieves this fairness goal. It is irresponsible for Democrats to let these taxpayers off in paying their fair share of the premium cost also it is incredibly stupid for protecting the integrity of the system because the Democrats have thrown away the deterrent for these taxpayers against inaccurately estimating their income during the application process because if up to this point if they did so they would bet an increased tax bill at the end of the year. I am not hard hearted to the American people's plight on this issue caused by difficulties brought about by the Covid 19 Pandemic; I think it would be good policy for the tax years of 2020 and 2021 to waive any tax adjustment for premium underpayment for taxpayers that received unemployment compensation and whose income was under 400 percent of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level) and for such income taxpayers who were not unemployed during those tax years reduce the caps by twenty five percent. Further for taxpayers whose income was above 400% of FPL and received unemployment compensation during the year for that year give that taxpayer a pass on five-thousand dollars of underpayment of premiums and for such income level Americans that were not unemployed for any underpayment of premiums the federal government cuts the amount by twenty-five percent in determining the corresponding increase in taxes. For all affected taxpayers from this program If a taxpayer wants they can elect to pay half the tax increase in the year incurred and half the next year.
Democrats further dramatically damage the fiscal responsibility of this program by doing the following. As stated this program works by giving a taxpayer a credit to pay their health insurance premium cost the taxpayer pays 2.07% to 9.83% of their total premium costs (TPC) depending on whether their household income is 133% of the FPL up to 400% of the FPL and the Federal government pays the balance of the TPC in the form of a credit. The Democrats in their bill want to increase the value of the credit for taxpayers with incomes up to 150% of FPL where they will pay zero percent of the TPC and for taxpayers with household incomes immediately over 150% of the FPL up to household incomes of 400% the respective taxpayer will pay from .01 % to 8.5% of TPC on a graduated scale with the federal government paying the balance of the TPC in the form of a credit. Considering the fact that the nation is in an alarming financial hole with trillion dollar per year budget deficits as far as the eye can see and the annual health insurance premiums in recent years have been modest there is no justification for lowering the taxpayers share here. Also most noteworthy the Democrats in their bill expand this insurance premium credit to everyone there is a provision in their bill that states that for taxpayers with household incomes over 400 % of the poverty level such taxpayer will only have to pay 8.55 of the TPC and the federal government will provide a credit for the balance. For the same reason referenced above that the country is in bad financial condition this expansion of the health insurance credit program is a bad idea. Needless to say Congress and the President desperately need to reform the Affordable Care Act this writer is a fan of the Act but the Act has problems when the Obama administration was putting the bill together many experts told the administration that all the mandates would add thirty to forty percent to the cost of insurance but the administration dismissed them and as it turned out the experts were right. As a centrist on this health care issue that doesn't want to see the political right prevail with their rolling back the clock to before the ACA with people with pre-existing conditions going thru hell over their health care needs and doesn't want to see the political left prevail with their socialized medicine agenda that will bring low quality and long wait care the answer is well known. The bipartisan criticism of the ACA is that there is no cost controls in the system. The path that I see that is possible is allow a modified ACA system where people get to select which system they want to participate in. Specifically, Congress creates a five panel commission the Democrats pick two seats and the Republicans pick two seats and the President picks the chairperson and his two party seats and for the first six year of the commission all five candidates have to be confirmed by a sixty vote majority in the majority so the nation will see middle of the roaders after six years only the chairperson has to confirmed this way. Their charge is to create a body of lower cost mandates that still provide a good health safety net for people, for their directive Congress would have three months to override, the Senate filibuster rules don't apply and for the commissions mandate to be blocked both sixty percent of the Senate and House would have to vote against it. Then people in the individual exchanges would get to chose to they want an insurance plan that follows the ACA mandates or one that follows the modified ACA mandates which will be significantly cheaper and this will go a long way to answering the pleas of the American people for affordable health insurance and health services.
What is interesting in the Democrats change to the ACA in their Pandemic relief bill is how they did not take the opportunity to give some Americans a real good taste of their future in the Medicare for all system. By that I mean that Democrats want a Medicare for all system where people just go into their Doctor's office and present their Medicare Card for the service provided and pay nothing well guys that is what the Medicaid system is today. So why didn't the Democrats in their bill shift those Americans with household incomes up to one hundred fifty percent of the FPL who will be paying no insurance premiums in the new Democrat system into the Medicaid system hell the Federal government would have been saving more money because Medicaid insurance is cheaper than exchange insurance Democrats would have had more money to spend elsewhere; might it be that the Medicaid system which often doesn't even pay health care providers their costs isn't as good a health care system as the private insurance market system and ordinary Americans know this and Democrats did not want to anger them. Democrats should let this decision jar their conscience that a Medicare for all system that won't pay at least many health care providers their cost won't end well for America! The general Democrat idea of paying a proportionally increased percentage insurance premium credit for those Americans with household incomes over 400% of FPL is not a bad idea that is part of the answer in solving America's cost related health care problem. But the Democrats should acquire that and President Joe Biden's platform for capping out of pocket deductibles for families with incomes below 400% of the FPL at one thousand dollars per year and their good drug price ideas et al. in a negotiation with Republicans and give Republicans this modified mandate package they twist themselves into a pretzel over trying to acquire!
