Obamacare is crashing...

[Kulindahr]

No person withdraws their labour from the market because taxes got just a bit too high. No one says "Damn it, my withholdings increased by 4%. I quit."

People will say "I get too many tax deductions for my spouse to bother working. He/she would have to earn X to make it break even so no point them returning to work." That is a problem with the incentive structure of ridiculous deductions, not with the tax rate.

And people will say "Thank fuck I no longer have to work to pay for my chemo." Again, not a problem with tax rates. That's a problem with too much basic humanity dragging down the labour market.

Ah, deductions . . . .

One of my first suggestions for dealing with the cost of medical care was throwing out that silly 5% limit, and making the first $10k of medical expenses a deduction. Tax deductions for medical expenses is something that only benefits the wealthy.

 

[xbuzzerx]

Ah, deductions . . . .

One of my first suggestions for dealing with the cost of medical care was throwing out that silly 5% limit, and making the first $10k of medical expenses a deduction. Tax deductions for medical expenses is something that only benefits the wealthy.

That is an excellent idea. I can definitely agree after working in the accounting field that the amount of medical cost someone needs to accrue to realistically see a tax benefit from it only really covers three groups: the retired elderly (who are usually not filing anyway, or at least do not need to in most cases), the very seriously sick or terminally ill who are likely not working because of their illness, and upper middle class+ people who see specialists and expensive experts for every ache and pain and get prescriptions for vicodin and valium for every ailment.

 

[TX-Beau]

Or we could simply go single payer like the rest of the civilized world....

 

[chrisrobin]

Or we could simply go single payer like the rest of the civilized world....

^^^ this -

 

[Jack Springer]

That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

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Obamacare Job Killers!!!!!!!

You respond with a blog that daily contains lies and innuendos?

If you feel it's so ridiculous -- defend your position.

 

[Kulindahr]

That is an excellent idea. I can definitely agree after working in the accounting field that the amount of medical cost someone needs to accrue to realistically see a tax benefit from it only really covers three groups: the retired elderly (who are usually not filing anyway, or at least do not need to in most cases), the very seriously sick or terminally ill who are likely not working because of their illness, and upper middle class+ people who see specialists and expensive experts for every ache and pain and get prescriptions for vicodin and valium for every ailment.

I missed one point on the idea: it should be outside the standard deduction. Congress did a very foolish thing when they raised the standard deduction, because in effect it made it so that medical costs and charitable donation only benefit the wealthy -- for those who have lesser means, the high standard deduction on taxes is an incentive to skip medical care and not donate to anything.

For another reform, using the tax system: the first $1k of non-insured medical expenses, whether a deductible or co-pay or whatever, should be a tax credit. Passing that wouldn't hurt the ACA at all; in fact there's a good chance it would help, because it would move a lot more people to actually being able to afford to use their insurance, so more people would be likely to enroll.

Oh, yeah -- and we need more doctors . . . .

 

[Jack Springer]

I missed one point on the idea: it should be outside the standard deduction. Congress did a very foolish thing when they raised the standard deduction, because in effect it made it so that medical costs and charitable donation only benefit the wealthy -- for those who have lesser means, the high standard deduction on taxes is an incentive to skip medical care and not donate to anything.

For another reform, using the tax system: the first $1k of non-insured medical expenses, whether a deductible or co-pay or whatever, should be a tax credit. Passing that wouldn't hurt the ACA at all; in fact there's a good chance it would help, because it would move a lot more people to actually being able to afford to use their insurance, so more people would be likely to enroll.

Oh, yeah -- and we need more doctors . . . .

However, Obamacare can only be 'changed' by executive order -- Congress is not allowed to change the law.

 

[Kulindahr]

Or we could simply go single payer like the rest of the civilized world....

But take it out of the government's hands -- set it up as an independent foundation, something like the Red Cross, which gets funding from Congress, but which would be run by people who care about health care, not by politicians out to score points somehow.

 

[Kulindahr]

However, Obamacare can only be 'changed' by executive order -- Congress is not allowed to change the law.

Huh?

The Republicans aren't interested in changing the law, they just want to trash anything Obama approved of. And the Democrats are too busy trying to keep the Republicans from doing even worse damage to bother trying to change it.

Maybe if we can elect a Congress of adults, we can get something done.

 

[bankside]

Or we could simply go single payer like the rest of the civilized world....

As a Canadian, I'm a great supporter of private, for-profit medicine. If you want a boob job, or a facelift, or liposuction, or a hair transplant, I am 100% in favour of the market charging whatever is the going rate. It's only the heart attacks, the strokes, the cancer, and the basic health and mobility, where we give out the freebies.

 

[Kulindahr]

As a Canadian, I'm a great supporter of private, for-profit medicine. If you want a boob job, or a facelift, or liposuction, or a hair transplant, I am 100% in favour of the market charging whatever is the going rate. It's only the heart attacks, the strokes, the cancer, and the basic health and mobility, where we give out the freebies.

In a sci-fi book I read the society had a distinction that was very easy, for this: any medical procedure meant to maintain one's body at a reasonable level of health and ability had a cost of one credit; anything meant to change or improve your body away from the norm was whatever the market would bear -- and the law sanctioned charging according to a customer's means.

So for a hip replacement, an operation to restore it to its normal function would cost one credit, but if a person wanted synthetic materials to make it far stronger than human hip bones could be, or built-in auxiliary motors to enhance speed or strength beyond human norms (or beyond what that person had before), a surgeon could tell a billionaire that the charge was, say, six million dollars.

It's a good distinction.

 

[TX-Beau]

In a sci-fi book I read the society had a distinction that was very easy, for this: any medical procedure meant to maintain one's body at a reasonable level of health and ability had a cost of one credit; anything meant to change or improve your body away from the norm was whatever the market would bear -- and the law sanctioned charging according to a customer's means.

So for a hip replacement, an operation to restore it to its normal function would cost one credit, but if a person wanted synthetic materials to make it far stronger than human hip bones could be, or built-in auxiliary motors to enhance speed or strength beyond human norms (or beyond what that person had before), a surgeon could tell a billionaire that the charge was, say, six million dollars.

It's a good distinction.

Means testing payment schedules!!!!

OH MY GOD WHO LET THE SOCIALIST INTO THE ROOMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kulindahr]

Means testing payment schedules!!!!

OH MY GOD WHO LET THE SOCIALIST INTO THE ROOMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's socialist about charging a billionaire more for an operation??? Sounds like predatory capitalism to me.