patrick.net

Doesn't it really depend upon the amount of the penalty?

I mean clearly health insurance rates are going to rise dramatically due to all the extra stuff they now have to cover, but if the penalty is low enough, them people will just pay it.

See health care calculator here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/what-health-bill-means-for-you/#

Hypothetically - per the calculator, if you are over 26, without insurance, for a ONE person household making $40K a year and are unmarried/single - the annual premium on your health coverage (with FEDERAL ASSISTANCE) is NO MORE THAN $3800. If you do not get the coverage, then the penalty you pay (all criteria remaining the same) is $744.00. This lower penalty however will only occur for the first few years, at which point the penalty will start to approximate the cost of the health insurance premium... (Thanks for the TAX INCREASE, Obama)

If all the above stated criteria remain the same, but instead you make $45K a year there is NO FEDERAL ASSITANCE to keep your health care within affordable limits and your annual penalty increases to $869.00 (again for the first few years, and again, thanks for the TAX INCREASE)...

Oh, and then there is the 30% deductible if you need to actually USE the insurance....

Given this cost-structure, at what point will employers have an incentive to cut their costs and not offer health plans as part of compensation all together?? And what will this do for the self-employed / entreprenuers trying to start businesses now that their TAXES just went up massively, will it help or hinder the development of these business??

And what will this do to those unemployed for more than a year, which is quite normal in this Obama economy??

Just some questions, I'm trying to figure this thing out... Perhaps it would be a good idea to get into the health insurance industry if this thing stands and does not get repealed. A captive market would ensure customers....

The middle class goes with out, while paying handsomely to subsidize the lazy and those that refuse to work.

scratch that we're all fucked...

here's what a family of 4 making only 30K a year will have to pay...
Which is less than 24000 a year after taxes. Which is less than 2K a month which is about 500 a week.

Starting in 2014:You will have the option of buying a health plan through your state's exchange with federal assistance. Based on your income, your annual premiums for that plan would be no more than $900 to $1,200. Your maximum out-of-pocket costs for deductibles and co-payments would be capped at 6 percent of the total cost.

This on top of out of control commodity gouging and price fixing on energy and food. Everyone will be working for Wallstreet with out a damn thing to show for it at the end of the year.

My numbers come out to over 9K a year btw. That's more than my house principal.

Small businesses which didn't have a health insurance for their employees would have to pay a penalty tax and since it is a cost to them they would pass that cost to their customers.
Small businesses which used to have a health insurance for their employees might make a decision to eliminate them if the cost is higher (which is going to be for sure) than the cost of penalty tax. However it is really difficult just to dump your cost. They probably say they would give their employees small raise in exchange of dumping the insurance. So their overall cost would go down a little bit.