Top Stories
ObamaCare Oregon’s Greg Walden Itemize ObamaCare Taxes Oregon Republican Congressman Greg Walden wants consumers to have more information about the taxes included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He notes most of us have no clue how many taxes and fees are in the program and he is introducing a bill that will require those taxes and fees be posted on your monthly health insurance bill.
to the nearly trillion dollars in taxes associated with the new health care law,” he added. For opponents of his plan, Walden said such fees and taxes are posted on telephone and cell phone bills, cable and Internet bills, utility bills and other bills we routinely receive. So why not our health insurance bills?
“If the federal government is going to play such a big role in our health care going forward, we have the right to know just how much it costs us. The ‘Patients’ Right to Know Act’ will require health insurers to provide consumers with a line-by-line summary of how the new health care law’s taxes and fees are impacting their insurance premiums,” Walden said.
The congressman contends rising premiums will hit consumers hard once ObamaCare goes into full effect in January of 2014. He quoted a study commissioned by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. It found premiums will rise an average of 38% for those buying it themselves or that work for a small business that gives them access to insurance. It also found the premiums in the individual market will go up 27% to 55%.
Walden contends there are $1 trillion in taxes within the Act. “Consumers deserve the right to know how much of their premium is attributable
His bill is titled: “Unaffordable: Impact of Obamacare on Americans’ Health Insurance Premiums.” n
2012 Expensive
Wildfires were so bad in 2012 that some of them burned for over three-months. And they were expensive. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said the effort to put out fires last spring, summer and fall was $580 million. The top reason for the fires is lightning strikes and 80% were caused that way. n
March 2013 | Main Street Industry News | www.pianeia.com | 18