Dr. George F. Elaina, MD — Healthcare Policy: Facts vs Fiction

"The recent New York Times opinion piece penned by Paul Krugman exemplifies what the problem is with political discourse in our country. Under the guise of pointing out the effects of a polarized political environment that uses intellectual dishonesty by those who disagree with their point of view. He exposes himself to be like the very same people that he mocks and belittles.

The “policy success” of ObamCare that he paints flies in the face of reality, and anyone who is not a practicing physician cannot truly understand how policy affects the practice of medicine and the delivery of healthcare.  Patients are finding out what practicing physicians have known all along – that having health insurance does not equal access to quality healthcare. From the beginning the proponents of The Affordable Care Act used the argument that having health insurance equaled access to healthcare. However, the existence of The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) passed by Congress in 1986 guaranteed that anyone who needed emergency medical care whether they were a US citizen or not would receive it despite their ability to pay.

Just because you say it doesn’t make it so

Healthcare spending is down, but it isn’t because the cost of health insurance has dropped. It is because access has become increasingly limited."

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Derrick Grayson — Obama's Obamacare Upheld by SCOTUS

Larry Walker ― Affordable Care Excise Tax, Part III

In Tax Simplification, Part II, I expounded on a 2010 Annual Report to Congress, in which National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson focused on the need for tax reform as the No. 1 priority in tax administration. In particular, she focused on the problem of delivering social benefits through the tax system, which complicates the mission of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), resulting in a dual mission of welfare administration as well as revenue collection. But instead of taking heed, the federal government doubled down, adding a new health care excise tax and health insurance premium tax credit to the IRS’s burden.

Telephone hold times with the IRS can sometimes run as long as four to seven hours these days, and if you don’t believe me try calling yourself. A taxpayer facing a federal tax lien, levy or wage garnishment doesn’t have a choice. He or she must call immediately in order to prevent an adverse action, but unless they have a day to spare and a very powerful battery, may wind up on the phone for several days just trying to get someone on the line. The federal government has taken an agency best suited for revenue collection, and turned it into a socialist style welfare office, long lines and all.

In Part 2, I affirmed that the shared responsibility payment isn’t a fee, because nothing is received in return. Nor is it a penalty, because failure to purchase health insurance doesn’t constitute a crime. The individual shared responsibility provision imposes an excise tax on a tiny minority of U.S. residents who don’t have government-mandated health insurance or qualify for one of several exemptions. Although Internal Revenue Code – Section 5000A refers to it as a penalty, in general, if it involves filling out a federal income tax form (i.e. Form 8965), and is assessed on and payable with your personal income tax return, it’s a tax.

 

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Rep. Mia B. Love's Healthcare remarks on the House floor today!

I was honored to speak on the floor of the House of Representatives in the fight to repeal Obamacare.

Dr. Elaina George, M.D. — Obamacare fines are looming should you really be afraid?

Dr Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology. She received her Masters degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University, and received her medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Larry Walker — Affordable Care Excise Tax, Part II

"In Part 1, we voiced concern that in constitutional law sense, an excise tax is usually an event tax as opposed to a “state of being” tax, the recent exception to this principle being the "minimum essential coverage" tax under Internal Revenue Code section 5000A as enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148), whereby an indirect tax is imposed on the condition of not having purchased health insurance coverage.

This is not the first time in history the United States has forced its middle class to pay a tax supposedly for our common good; Social Security and Medicare taxes come to mind. However, this is the first time the federal government has ordered its middle class to either engage in an act of commerce, or else hand over a percentage of its hard earned income.

Nearly 18 million state and local government employees as well as a few conscientious religious objectors are exempt from Social Security taxes, while the rest of us are bound to a sinking ship. Is it fair that millions of Americans get a better deal, while the masses are forced to contribute to the welfare of others?"

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