Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Taxation with GOP representation


The Republican "plan" to replace the Affordable Care Act is a clear example of how the Republican Party views the American public and taxation. Above a certain wealth level you are their bestest friend who will get everything they can give you and below that you are the cash cow that must be milked for all you are worth and put out in poor pasture.
Republicans in the House have performed major surgery on the Obamacare replacement plan they circulated a few weeks ago. But compared with the Affordable Care Act, the new plan still shifts a lot of benefits from the poor to those who earn more.

Legislative language for what House leaders call the American Health Care Act, released Monday evening, would substantially cut back funding to states that cover poor adults through their Medicaid program. It would cut back on financial assistance for relatively low-income insurance shoppers above the poverty line.

It would offer new financial benefits for the upper-middle class and the rich. Americans higher up the income scale would be eligible for subsidies to help them buy health insurance. Taxes on high incomes would be reversed. And the law would allow people to save more money each year in tax-free health savings and flexible spending accounts — accounts that are most valuable to people who pay high income tax rates and have money to save.

The bill even does away with a provision meant to tax incomes of insurance executives that top $500,000.

Poor, older adults would face the largest crunch: The magnitude of their tax credits shrinks, even as a separate provision in the bill allows insurers to charge older people substantially higher prices than are allowed under the Affordable Care Act.
Along with the block grants for Medicaid which allow the GOP to shortchange the states and force them to reduce benefits, this plan is absolutely redolent of Republican values that put wealth over humanity.

Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]