Thread: Obamacare!!

Anyone care to venture a guess as to how much this is going to affect federal employees?

Well, let's see how Open Season prices are affected. And how the Obamacare funding mechanism plays out. He's going to have a tough re-election pitch calling the funding a 'tax'.

Originally Posted by Chaser199

Anyone care to venture a guess as to how much this is going to affect federal employees?

My guess, rates will go up. . .they will have to, more people covered, and lots of them not paying.

Should just be offset by our COLA's. . .oh wait, maybe not. . .

Originally Posted by Time Traveller

My guess, rates will go up. . .they will have to, more people covered, and lots of them not paying.

Should just be offset by our COLA's. . .oh wait, maybe not. . .

I don't understand how more people can be covered without paying. Am I missing the part where a lot more people will have free health care?

Originally Posted by FederalCO

I don't understand how more people can be covered without paying. Am I missing the part where a lot more people will have free health care?

Everyone will be covered, regardless of ability to pay.

But it will have to be paid FOR by somebody.

Well, if the money to pay for this has to come from SOMEWHERE, but it can't come from those who are already contributing ZERO, where could we POSSIBLY start to look?

Hmmmmm... let's see...

Aren't we federal employees/retirees in one of those "Cadillac" plans? Which will be taxed.

Nail on the head...in 2018 we can look forward to a 3800 dollar increase in our healthcare cost, that is before the companies jack the rates to off set perceived losses. This is taking serious money out of our pockets and redistributing it.

Yay socialism.

Ah the political season. With regard to the Cadillac tax and Federal employees (in general, because there are other specific exemptions for those in high risk occupations, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters - but, you can do your own homework there):

Mike Causey's Federal Report





You and Your Cadillac Health Plan


Thursday - 7/29/2010, 3:30am ET

Take the internet, a little hype and a massive complex and confusing law (Health Care Reform) and you've got all the ingredients for the Perfect Storm Urban Myth. With some truth to it!! In this case the buzz is about the coming excise tax on so-called Cadillac health plans, including those in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, the nation's largest.
Many people like the high-premium plans because their coverage is often superior to lower-premium plans. Many politicians and policy-makers think the plans encourage people to overuse expensive medical services, thereby driving up costs, they say, for everybody. So the administration's new health care plan proposes to discourage people from choosing high-premium, high-benefit plans by imposing an excise tax on them.
Since passage of the law lots of people have sent out "warnings" about the impending tax. Some have been confused, or have the wrong dates of implementation and premium-thresholds. Some have been flat out wrong, apparently on purpose.
After a number of readers sent is e-mail alerts they had received we checked it out, and got the right dates and the correct numbers.

But some people wanted more, or a clarification as to what the experts say.
So we went to Walton Francis. He's a retired official at HHS and the long-time author of CHECKBOOK's Guide to Federal Health Plans.
Here's his take:

• "The reality is that the 'Cadillac plan' tax will likely rarely be paid. Plans will redesign their benefits, coinsurance, deductibles, etc. to stay below the taxable amount. In that case, the reduced availability of 'free' or near-free health coverage will reduce wasteful spending by changing consumer incentives as well as physician behavior. This effect is virtually the only 'bend the curve' part of the health reform package and one scored by the CBO as saving a good deal of money over time. Even if some plans do pay the excise tax, it would be doubtful that they could pass it on to consumers. In the FEHBP, in particular, enrollees can simply use Open Season to enroll in a more frugal plan where their premiums aren't wasted on the tax. In the insurance market at large, health exchanges will offer more frugal plans that consumers will choose. Another possible scenario, and quite a likely one, is that the Congress will defer or soften the tax rather than let it impact voters substantially, similar to the annual ritual of postponing the alternative-minimum tax hit.
  "All this is really a digression from the issue at hand, however. The fact is that requiring companies to show tax-exempt health benefit amounts on W-2s will not subject those benefits to taxation. That is pure 'urban legend.' Instead, the purpose of this requirement is to inform consumers as to how much of their paycheck is devoted to an earmarked benefit rather than allowing them to spend on the priority of their choice, such as better housing or a college education for their kids. It is unambiguously desirable that consumers be better informed on the immense cost of health benefits and more informed consumers will, if we all are lucky, help put additional pressure on wasteful spending." W.F.
  

According to an article on Govexec, most of the plans in the FEHB have already implemented the proposed changes so at least in the short term, the impact to feds should be minimal. BUT, when you combine multi-year pay freezes with rising health insurance costs every year, it does hurt a bit. Plus I too think we will see premium increases rise more steeply than in the past.

P.S. I know money is tight, but I strongly encourage everyone, regardless of employment or position, to take advantage of Health (or Medical) Savings Accounts. It does take some paperwork and accounting but using pre-tax dollars to cover out-of-pocket health care expenses seems like a good deal to me. The feds options in this area are not the best, but still worth while in my opinion. Plus it encourages informed spending of health care dollars.

If I read correctly, those Health Care savings plans will also take a hit under Obamacare with a decrease in allowable savings ceiling.

Thank you sir, can I have another?

Originally Posted by dmclark

If I read correctly, those Health Care savings plans will also take a hit under Obamacare with a decrease in allowable savings ceiling.

$2500.00...down from $5000.00 annually...according to that FBI agent that is nice enough to dig through the weeds of all this nonsense...

17% consumption tax would be awesome...CC