NTU urges all Representatives to vote “YES” on H.R. 596, which would repeal the President’s health care legislation, thereby rescinding nearly $1 trillion in tax hikes and $1.1 trillion in unaffordable spending.
After a troubled website roll-out and repeated delays of major provisions of the 2010 health care law, there is little to indicate that things are looking up for taxpayers as a result of the misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Many businesses have been forced to cut hours or lay off workers as a result of the employer mandate. More than 5.8 million Americans who failed to comply with the onerous individual mandate will be hit with a household penalty of $95 per person or 1 percent of household income, whichever is higher, starting this tax season.
Numerous new taxes have gone into effect including a 3.8 percent surtax on investment and a 2.3 percent medical device excise tax – both of which impact older Americans disproportionately. In addition to increasing costs of medical devices, the tax could cost our economy 39,000 jobs between lay-offs, hiring freezes, and positions that simply won’t be created in the future. And there are still more taxes to come, like the 2018 tax on so-called “Cadillac” health insurance plans.
These economic burdens add insult to injury for taxpayers who have lost access to their preferred health care providers and are shouldering massive premium hikes for new insurance coverage after the favored plans of many Americans were eliminated due to new regulations. Sadly, the economic upheaval is expected to continue as small group plans are phased out and more are forced into federal or state exchanges.
Looking ahead there is little doubt that PPACA will continue to damage our economy, hurt small businesses, and make accessing and paying for health care even more challenging for individuals. Repealing PPACA should be an urgent matter for Members of Congress.
Roll call votes on H.R. 596 will be heavily weighted in our annual Rating of Congress and a “Yes” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.