Change is difficult for many people however...healthcare must change and if Americans want to call it socialized medicine, call it whatever you want.
You want democracy? Well, democracy doesn't work for everyone because of the underlying financial system... capitalism. Any system based on greed does not belong running any social service agency. Greed the likes of which we have in American today, is a deadly sin and people die by the millions because of it.
Woe to anyone who talks about change...I will accept socialized medicine if it means seniors, the poor and kids can get the care they need.
Associate Press reports that primary care doctors are a big winner in the new laws and since they provide the lion's share of healthcare, lets recognize that this may mean better care because doctors are adequately compensated for the time that's needed to bring back a more established form of doctor-patient relationship.
Baby boomers, remember when physicians were like members of the family? That's when they were less pressured by the high cost of practing medicine in America. The truth is every facet of our lives is now pressured by the corruption in politics, business, banking, etc.
Baby boomers, you have the future of the country in your hands because you are the single most largest population in America. It's time to think about the future...seems to me the Republicans didn't worry about the financial future of our country until they lost the White House. They dug us into 2 unfunded wars and brought about the collapse of the banking industry. They want less regulation.
I want more. At this stage, I trust big government more than I trust big business.
It's so interesting how the GOP wants less oversight yet they want to peer into the uterus of pregnant women with their smaller government. I get it. Rich people want poor people to always provide los cost labor and therefore the rich become very interested in the next generation of poverty level births,
the want more interest in developmental deprived youth as ignorance yields compliant people.
Baby boomers, we were the rebels, we marched for Civil Rights, we marched to end the war in Viet Nam...we are a proactive generation. Please get all the information you can about the Affordable Care act and become a resource for yourself and others.
thanks
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Start planning now for the new health care legislation
From the Chicago
Now that the Affordable Care Act has been given a
green light by the Supreme Court, when will you have to pay for so-called
Obamacare?
For high-income taxpayers, you will start feeling it in 2013, when you begin paying a higher Medicare tax to help cover some of the costs.
For high-income taxpayers, you will start feeling it in 2013, when you begin paying a higher Medicare tax to help cover some of the costs.
For people who would rather not buy health insurance,
2014 is when you must start making the purchase. No one will show up in 2014
and say, "Buy now or else." But you will feel the "or else"
when you work on your 2014 tax return sometime in early 2015.
"The government can't force you to buy insurance, but it can tax you for not buying it," said John Roth, senior tax analyst with CCH Group.
As you do your 2014 taxes you are likely to see, for the first time, a line on your tax return asking for proof that you have obeyed the government's mandate and purchased health insurance. The details are yet to be worked out by the IRS; they were pending the Supreme Court's decision. But Roth said you will probably be prompted by a line on your 2014 tax return to identify the insurance policy you've purchased with an account number, or perhaps you will need to attach a copy.
"The government can't force you to buy insurance, but it can tax you for not buying it," said John Roth, senior tax analyst with CCH Group.
As you do your 2014 taxes you are likely to see, for the first time, a line on your tax return asking for proof that you have obeyed the government's mandate and purchased health insurance. The details are yet to be worked out by the IRS; they were pending the Supreme Court's decision. But Roth said you will probably be prompted by a line on your 2014 tax return to identify the insurance policy you've purchased with an account number, or perhaps you will need to attach a copy.
If you fail to do so, the government has the right to
penalize you. But under the Affordable Care Act, the IRS doesn't have the
muscle it has if a person fails to pay student loans or child support, Roth
said. The IRS doesn't have the right to put a lien on your house. But it still
does have some power.
If you complete your tax return and are due a refund, Roth notes that the IRS can confiscate some of the refund as the penalty for not buying health insurance. If you are due some type of credit such as the earned income tax credit, Roth figures the government can dip into that. For single people, penalties start at $95 or 1 percent of income, depending on which is highest. By 2016, it rises to $695 and can be higher based on family size and income.
The rationale is to urge people to get health insurance, so they don't inflict uncovered costs on the system when accidents or emergencies occur and they end up in hospitals. In addition, to keep insurance costs from rising sharply for riskier and sicker patients, health policy analysts claim healthy young people must buy insurance to subsidize those who are less healthy.
Also, to help pay for costs associated with health care changes, high-income people are going to be required to pay higher taxes. Next year, singles with incomes over $200,000 and couples with incomes over $250,000 will have to pay an extra 0.9 percent on earned income and a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment gains.
People with incomes over $200,000 will see the extra income tax removed from paychecks. Some will owe more at tax time because employers don't know when an employee is in a two-income family earning more than the $250,000 threshold.
The 3.8 percent tax on investment income applies to interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income and annuity income. In addition, starting in 2013, the current 15 percent tax on long-term capital gains is set to go up to 20 percent.
In the case of a married couple with a joint income of $225,000 and $25,000 in capital gains, there would be no extra 3.8 percent tax. But if they had $35,000 in capital gains, their $260,000 in income would meet the threshold and $10,000 would be subject to the extra tax, said Tim Steffen, Robert W. Baird & Co.'s director of financial planning..
With the Supreme Court decision lending more certainty to the beginning of the tax, Steffen said financial advisers will start working with clients on ways to take gains in 2012 rather than 2013, when they will be taxed more heavily.
For example, small business owners thinking of selling a business next year might be better off selling in 2012, Steffen said. People planning for higher taxes might sell stock or real estate and exercise stock options earlier than planned.
"Still, people should avoid doing crazy things to avoid the tax," Steffen added. Business and investment decisions should come before tax decisions.
Apart from investments, individuals should also be thinking now about timing costly medical care where there's leeway — perhaps moving Lasik surgery or eyeglass purchases from 2013 to 2012. Starting in 2013, medical costs must total 10 percent of your adjusted gross income to be deducted, and it's difficult to amass costs that high in a single year. In 2012, the threshold is lower — 7.5 percent. So clustering them this year might give you a shot at a deduction you won't be able to meet in the future.
gmarksjarvis@tribune.com
If you complete your tax return and are due a refund, Roth notes that the IRS can confiscate some of the refund as the penalty for not buying health insurance. If you are due some type of credit such as the earned income tax credit, Roth figures the government can dip into that. For single people, penalties start at $95 or 1 percent of income, depending on which is highest. By 2016, it rises to $695 and can be higher based on family size and income.
The rationale is to urge people to get health insurance, so they don't inflict uncovered costs on the system when accidents or emergencies occur and they end up in hospitals. In addition, to keep insurance costs from rising sharply for riskier and sicker patients, health policy analysts claim healthy young people must buy insurance to subsidize those who are less healthy.
Also, to help pay for costs associated with health care changes, high-income people are going to be required to pay higher taxes. Next year, singles with incomes over $200,000 and couples with incomes over $250,000 will have to pay an extra 0.9 percent on earned income and a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment gains.
People with incomes over $200,000 will see the extra income tax removed from paychecks. Some will owe more at tax time because employers don't know when an employee is in a two-income family earning more than the $250,000 threshold.
The 3.8 percent tax on investment income applies to interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income and annuity income. In addition, starting in 2013, the current 15 percent tax on long-term capital gains is set to go up to 20 percent.
In the case of a married couple with a joint income of $225,000 and $25,000 in capital gains, there would be no extra 3.8 percent tax. But if they had $35,000 in capital gains, their $260,000 in income would meet the threshold and $10,000 would be subject to the extra tax, said Tim Steffen, Robert W. Baird & Co.'s director of financial planning..
With the Supreme Court decision lending more certainty to the beginning of the tax, Steffen said financial advisers will start working with clients on ways to take gains in 2012 rather than 2013, when they will be taxed more heavily.
For example, small business owners thinking of selling a business next year might be better off selling in 2012, Steffen said. People planning for higher taxes might sell stock or real estate and exercise stock options earlier than planned.
"Still, people should avoid doing crazy things to avoid the tax," Steffen added. Business and investment decisions should come before tax decisions.
Apart from investments, individuals should also be thinking now about timing costly medical care where there's leeway — perhaps moving Lasik surgery or eyeglass purchases from 2013 to 2012. Starting in 2013, medical costs must total 10 percent of your adjusted gross income to be deducted, and it's difficult to amass costs that high in a single year. In 2012, the threshold is lower — 7.5 percent. So clustering them this year might give you a shot at a deduction you won't be able to meet in the future.
gmarksjarvis@tribune.com
