March 30, 2013

Healthcare Costs May Rise When Obamacare Is Implemented; Uninsured Americans Will Pay Fine Collected by the IRS; Taxpayers Give HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius $200,000 Annual Salary Plus Generous Retirement Package (Only 7% of Americans Have Personal Income of $100,000+ Per Year Yet 19% of Federal Workers Earn $100,000+ Per Year; Only Half of Americans Have a Retirement Annuity or Pension Yet Most Federal Employees Have Both an Annuity and Pension)

SEBELIUS, KATHLEEN G  OFC SEC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES  District of Columbia  District of Columbia  WASHINGTON  MISCELLANEOUS ADMINISTRATION AND PROGRAM  Grade
EX 01  		Salary
$199,700  		Bonus
$0 

Source: Federal Employees Salary Database 2010

Thanks to politicians and bureaucrats like Sebelius, Americans will be forced to purchase government-controlled health insurance; and, if they don't, another federal agency, the tax collectors (IRS) will 'fine' them (charge them a tax penalty) 2.5% of income or $695 per person (when fully phased-in in 2016), whichever is greater (starting in 2017, the minimum tax per person will rise each year with inflation; and for children 18 and under, the minimum per-person tax is half of that for adults). Anyone remember the Roman Empire: senate and equestrian classes enjoyed great wealth from the purse of conquered peoples (the rulers kept conquered peoples from revolting and overthrowing the dominion by having a large army at their disposal for any would-be revolutionary movement against the Empire; for those who served in the Roman military, there were also great benefits that were relinquished by the emperor on their behalf, which promoted loyalty to the emperor beyond Rome). In the Roman Empire, taxation caused a great divide between the economic elite and the 97 percent of those in the Empire who lived in some degree of poverty.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius addresses the first session of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina September 4, 2012. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

"Get ready to enroll in health care marketplace, starting in Oct. 2013. Here is a helpful checklist to get you started http://1.usa.gov/YrVGYe 4:07 PM" - Kathleen Sebelius @Sebelius, March 4, 2013, Twitter

Some healthcare costs may rise when "Obamacare" implemented: official

March 28, 2013

Reuters - President Barack Obama's top healthcare adviser acknowledged on Tuesday that costs could rise in the individual health insurance market, particularly for men and younger people, because of the landmark 2010 healthcare restructuring due to take effect next year.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said definitive data on costs will not be available until later this year when private health plans become authorized to sell federally subsidized coverage on new state-based online marketplaces, known as exchanges.
"Everything is speculation. I think there's likely to be some shifting in the markets," she told reporters at the White House.
The law, also known as "Obamacare," eliminates discriminatory market practices that have imposed higher rates on women and people with medical conditions.

It also limits how much insurers can charge older people. But while the changes are expected to lower costs for women, older beneficiaries and the sick, men and younger, healthier people will likely see higher rates as insurers try to hedge against continued risks.
"Women are going to see some lower costs, some men are going to see some higher costs. It's sort of a one to one shift ... some of the older customers may see a slight decline, and some of the younger ones are going to see a slight increase."
Insurance premiums could rise for some with individual plans, she said, as Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enhances the level of coverage and either eliminates or reduces the rate of price discrimination against people who are older, female or have preexisting medical conditions.
"These folks will be moving into a really fully insured product for the first time, so there may be a higher cost associated with getting into that market," Sebelius said.
But those who qualify for federal subsidies through state healthcare exchanges would still get a better deal, she said.

Her remarks coincide with growing uneasiness about possible cost increases among lawmakers and executives in the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare industry.

A new study released on Tuesday by the nonpartisan Society of Actuaries estimates that insurance costs will rise 32 percent on average nationwide within three years, partly as a result of higher risk pools. Changes would vary by state, from an 80 percent hike in Wisconsin to a 14 percent reduction in New York.

Obama's healthcare restructuring, the signature domestic policy achievement of his first term, is expected to provide coverage to more than 30 million people beginning on January 1, 2014, both through the state exchanges and a planned expansion of the government-run Medicaid program for the poor.

Subsidies in the form of premium tax credits, available on a sliding scale according to income, are expected to mitigate higher costs for many new beneficiaries.

But the insurance industry, which is set to gain millions of new customers under the law, is warning of soaring premium costs next year because of new regulations that include the need to offer a broader scale of health benefits than some insurers do now.

That has raised concerns about people with individual policies not subject to subsidies and the potential for cost spillovers into the market for employer-sponsored plans, which according to U.S. Census data, cover about half of U.S. workers.

'LITTLE IMPACT'

Sebelius dismissed the idea of significant change for employer plans, saying that market segment was "likely to see very little impact."

Separately, a Democratic U.S. senator on Tuesday said the federal government has limited scope to help millions of people likely to remain without affordable health insurance under the new law.

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, released a report submitted to the panel by the administration that outlines an "employee choice" policy that would allow some employers to offer a wider range of coverage choices to their workers at reduced rates for 2014.

But Wyden said the approach would not help many of the nearly 4 million worker dependents who may have to forego subsidized private health coverage as a result of an IRS ruling.
"Even in the states that allow for employee choice, it will be limited to a small number of workers," Wyden said.
The law would have most people with employer insurance remain under their current plans. Workers can opt for subsidized coverage if their employer plan is unaffordable, but only according to a narrow definition of what is affordable.

The IRS ruled in January that the cost of insuring a worker's family will be considered unaffordable if the employee's contribution to an individual coverage plan exceeded 9.5 percent of that person's income. That rule ignores the fact that family coverage is far more expensive than individual coverage.

As a result, the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 3.9 million family dependents could be left unable either to afford employer-sponsored family coverage or to obtain federally subsidized insurance through an exchange.

In its report to the Senate committee, Sebelius' department said some employers could claim a tax credit in 2014 to make coverage more affordable and offer workers a range of coverage plans through state-based exchanges.

Related:
Federal employees have stools with three legs made of solid mahogany. In the FERS, government employees contribute 0.8 percent of pay while their employing agencies [taxpayers] put in 11 percent of pay. On top of that, federal employees can contribute to a Thrift Savings Plan and get a 5 percent matching contribution from their employing agency [taxpayers]. This match is immediately vested to boot. According to the CRS report, "All participants in FERS are immediately vested in their own contributions and in government matching contributions to the TSP, as well as any investment earnings on these contributions." And the third leg for most federal employees is Social Security. If it gives you any comfort, they contribute to FICA to the same extent that everyone else does. [Going postal over federal pensions, Bankrate.com, March 25, 2011]
In 2011, taxpayers paid roughly $19 billion to fund future federal pensions, while federal employees contributed only $1 billion. 
Top-notch retirement benefits are prolific in the public sector. A large majority of state and local government workers (84 percent) were offered a traditional pension in 2010, compared with just 20 percent of private industry workers. The public sector professions most likely to come with pensions include primary, secondary, and special education school teachers (96 percent), natural resources, construction, and maintenance jobs (87 percent), and the protective service (84 percent). State and local governments, some federal government employees, and the military are the primary areas where they remain strong. [7 Reasons You Don't Have a Pension, US News & World Report, February 7, 2011]
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