Forget ‘Keep Your Plan’ And The Website, Obamacare Taxes Are Worse

And the news about Obamacare keeps getting better. Taxes taxes and more taxes. Just what a struggling economy and consumers need. More taxes. Then there are the exemptions for those that can gain favor with one politician or another. Thanks Washington, thanks Obama for being so caring and understanding of our very needs.

Forbes

There is no shortage of complaints about the Affordable Care Act, the unfortunately named massive health-care law still roiling the nation. Embarrassing website issues and keep-your-doctor-keep-your-plan backtracking have occupied center stage. Add to that a kind of Hunger Games, the system’s voracious need to sign up young people to offset the cost for others. Come on down, say the advertisements.

It must be underscored that this isn’t only the President’s law. Congress passed it, and it is hard to get past the naming ironies so prevalent in Washington. Taxes and fees abound, and when it comes out of your pocket, it matters little whether a tax or fee label is applied. In 2014, Americans must dig deeper for the health care they need in ways that don’t meet the eye.

Full story: Forbes

Obamacare signs up its first dog, so there’s that, at least

While many people are having a hard time signing up for care through HealthCare.gov it is comforting to know that our pets may have an easier time getting the health care coverage they need.

Yahoo! News

Hey, at least dogs aren’t having a problem getting on Obamacare.

Shane Smith of Fort Collins, Colo., recently found a little surprise when he signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. After proceeding through all the registration hurdles with Connect for Health Colorado, he learned that his dog Baxter had gotten insured, not Smith himself.

Full story: Yahoo! News

Can We Accept The President’s Non-Apology Apology on Obamacare

The Fiscal Times

Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue, but President Obama Thursday evening appeared to be as miffed about personally “getting burned” by the controversial launch of the Obamacare website as he was troubled by the inconvenience it has caused millions of Americans during the past month.

Moreover, he gave a less than rousing endorsement of his embattled Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, who has repeatedly apologized for the snafus and technical glitches that have dogged the HealthCare.gov website since it went live Oct. 1.

Full story: The Fiscal Times

The Obamacare Penalty: Yes, It Can Be Avoided

While we have no way of know whether or not this will actually work – in concept it makes sense. The idea is that to avoid paying the penalty is to make sure you owe money to the IRS. If the IRS owes you money then they will deduct the penalty from that refund to you. In owing to the IRS there is no way to enforce the penalty or collect. Warnings can be sent but little else can be done to collect that penalty.

Yahoo! Finance

The Obama administration this week said it is delaying the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s mandate, extending until March 31 how long Americans can go without insurance before facing a penalty.

But how strict is the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate to begin with? It’s a question that’s floated around since the mandate was first mentioned: Can the government – and more specifically, the IRS – really enforce the mandate penalty? The answer is yes, but only up to a point. Whichever political side of the ACA you are on, it is a technical question that’s piqued the curiosity of consumers and pundits alike.

Consumers don’t have to report on whether they have coverage or are exempt from the mandate until they file their 2014 income tax return, which are due April 15, 2015. (Insurers will be required to provide everyone they cover with information that will help them demonstrate they had coverage.)

Full story: Yahoo! Finance

Obamacare Website-Gate

Troubles with HealthCare.gov – Stephen Colbert comments in this video on the website that is becoming an international embarrassment.

 

Yahoo! screen

On Wednesday’s “Colbert Report,” after telling his audience he hates always reporting depressing stories night after night, Stephen Colbert said: “I finally have some good news to report. Millions of Americans can’t get health insurance.” Boom. “The Obamacare website is a disaster — and I am loving it,” the comedian added. “This techno-turd taco will be Barack Obama’s true legacy.” The roast continued. “It’s his Gettysburg Address, if Lincoln had said, ‘Four score and error 404, emancipation not found.” Colbert expressed no surprise about the troubles, pointing out the site contains databases and software from “55 contractors,” and the lead programming group was — wait for it — “Canadian.” Colbert diagnosed HealthCare.gov with “a terminal case of blow-chunkage.”

Full story-video: Yahoo! screen

Some Democrats open to changing Obamacare deadlines

In corporate America if a website of this caliber were released it would soon be taken down or revert back to the previous speficications. Considering the huge amount spent creating this site one would hope that it worked correctly. Then again we are talking about a government program where there is no competition – so crap can be turned out on the public – and what is broken can be fixed over time – at a cost.

Delaying Obamacare for individuals at this point so the government can correct the problems it is facing makes commen sense. Something the Feds typically lack.

Yahoo! News

Affordable Care Act supporters are hoping the embarrassing rollout problems with the law’s implementation can be resolved quickly, but if they can’t, some Democrats are opening the door to delaying or extending some of the mandates in the 2010 law.

“If the problems are intense as they are this morning, then maybe we would have to consider a short delay in terms of the individual mandate,” New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell, a member of the Health subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee, said on Wednesday. “I say, ‘maybe.’ I have a good feeling that we’re going to overcome these things.”

Full story: Yahoo! News