Obama's health-care overhaul upheld by u.s. Supreme court

http://cnbc.com/id/47946647


Key points:

- Individual mandate survives under Congress's taxing authority.
- Medicaid expansion limited
- *CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS WAS THE SWING VOTE, JOINING 4 DEMOCRAT APPOINTEES.



NOTE: CNN, HuffPo, TIME, and Fox News got this wrong when this broke, citing that the individual mandate had been struck down.


Medicare surtaxes: Here's where wealthier Americans will feel the effects of Obamacare. As of Jan. 1, 2013, a 3.8 percent surtax will be levied against surplus investments reported by the following groups: single filers reporting $200,000; married couples reporting $250,000; and married couples filing separately reporting $125,000.

In addition to the investment surtax, high-earning households will see their Medicare tax spike by 0.9 percent on their earned income, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The tax will apply to individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples filing jointly who make more than $250,000. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2013.

Consumer penalties: Part of the controversy surrounding health care reform was that the law would mandate coverage for all Americans on pain of penalties. Those penalties will be tiered and rise over a three-year period that kicks off in 2014, according to the National Association of Consumer Protection:

2014: Families––$285 or 1 percent of total household income, whichever is greater. Individual adults––$95.
2015: Families––$975 or 2 percent of income, whichever is greater. Individual adults––$325.
2016: Families––$2,085 or 2.5 percent of income, whichever is greater. Individual adults––$695.

If you're not covered by your employer, you'll have to pick from a list of government-mandated health insurance packages. Some exceptions do apply, including low-income families who can prove financial hardship.

Flex spending account limits: In addition to capping Flexible spending accounts at $2,500 in 2013, new rules limiting what you can buy with flex accounts will remain. They've been effective since Jan. 2011 and apply to OTC medications unless you have a prescription, excluding the following: "Insulin, even if purchased without a prescription, or other health care expenses such as medical devices, eye glasses, contact lenses, co-pays and deductibles," per the IRS.

......

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/li...e?hp#6a84d5023

This is a huge win for the Obama Administration. Looks like the only thing the GOP can do now is cause mass confusion and paranoia lol.

What will this do for us? Are we even allowed to buy insurance? Are we going to stick out like a sore thumb as the only people without insurance?

"I am outraged that the Supreme Court agrees with my past statements that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional." -Mitt FLOPney

So when we have an EAD we will be taxed with this too right?

I am able to stay insured through my parents until I'm 26 and thereby, giving me a direct benefit.

The "penalty" for not having insurance will be assessed through taxes, and not as a penalty. This was the core issue regarding the individual mandate. Chief Justice Roberts came to the conclusion that the mandate was constitutional as a tax after finding that it was not, in fact, a legal "command" to buy health insurance. He wrote in what promises to be a monumental quote in our history the following:

Our precedent demonstrates that Congress had the power to impose the exaction in Section 5000A under the taxing power, and that Section 5000A need not be read to do more than impose a tax. This is sufficient to sustain it.

I truely believe these words especially because they're coming out of you. From your posts, I know you know your shit. I believe this means victory for Obama in November. Man this is becoming gloomy by the day for Romney and his party. Looks like Rubio has gone into hiding too.

Keep in mind, this is scary precedent in a sense that it does give Congress an unruly amount of power through its taxing authority. And in addition, while I love seeing conservative rhetoric shut down, it does slightly bother me that more and more of these small groups of people have an increasingly larger control over directional movements in our global capital markets.

But that's just the capitalistic part of me speaking.