Many elderly are treated with therapy dogs - Tax on medical devices in Obama Care threatens both: Great article at Your Houston News.com asking for Volunteers with Therapy dogs - www.yourhoustonnews.com Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) infamous quip, “We must pass the bill before we find out what’s in it..away from the fog of Washington, has startled American pet owners who are going to have to budget more for pet care. The bill contains a tax on medical devices, which has already had an impact on the human population. According to the Medical Device Manufactures Association, “The $20B tax was included in the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law in 2010. The amount is based on a 2.3% excise tax that will be levied on the total revenues of a company, regardless of whether a company generates a profit, starting in 2013. Many companies will owe more in taxes than they generate from their operations. The result will be devastating to innovation, patient care and job creation.” The tax on these companies has already resulted in increased unemployment due to layoffs, and many of these companies are no longer investing in research and development.
What is a medical device? ” A medical device is any instrument, apparatus, appliance, material or other article, whether used alone or in combination, together with any accessories or software for its proper functioning, intended by the manufacturer to be used for human beings in the:
and which does not achieve its principal intended action in or on the human body by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means, but which may be assisted in its function by such means.'(ICR.gobal.org) In layman’s terms, hip replacements, pacemakers, iv’s and yes, birth control devices, such as an IUD or “ring”. Therefore, this tax will affect the elderly, women, athletes, and anyone who requires hospitalization and the use of an IV, including one’s dog or cat.
According to CBS Local Miami: Obamacare May Bite You At The Vet’s Office. Apparently, certain devices are used by both physicians and veterinarians in the care of their respective patients. These are devices such as IV pumps, sterile scalpels and anesthesia equipment. Expect the cost of this tax to be passed onto the consumer, just as the medical device tax will be passed onto consumers at their hospital or clinic. As the rise in health care costs are affected by yet another tax, health insurance premiums also rise.
The problem is exasperated by the “waivers” given to special interest groups by Washington – exempting those groups from enjoying the benefits of Obamacare – this includes unions, and federal employees, including members of Congress who signed a bill they never read.
The only way to push down the rising costs of health care is to increase competition among insurance providers. As it now stands, individual states limit the number of available insurers. This results in a very few for profit organizations sharing the “pool” of healthy individuals versus those requiring expensive medical care. In order to absorb the costs, the carriers increase insurance premiums. If there were more carriers in a state, the burden on each carrier would be reduced – and there would be a drop in premium prices as well as other marketing options such as reduced co-pays, and deductions in order for these companies to compete.
In Massachusetts, where the precursor to Obama Care was already in place for several years, the rise in Health Insurance Premiums ranged up to 20% each year. In addition, due to the number of individuals who neither had employer provided health insurance, or the money to afford the Insurance provided thorough eh State’s “Commonwealth Care”, waivers were introduced in order to provide tax relief (in the form of the tax penalty) to those individuals. Therefore, a growing number of families and individuals in Massachusetts do not have health insurance and the likelihood of those individuals going to the doctors for routine visits, are slim to nothing.
Perhaps they (the Administration and Congress - should have done an honest study, prior to writing any bills, and then signing them to find out what they contained). Further, in weighing his decision on the implementation of the Affordable Health Care Act – Chief Justice Roberts, upheld the bill as it was, and remains an additional tax on the American Public. – The nation has now become a microcosm of Massachusetts – and that does not bode well for those, middle class families, who will now find themselves searching for ways out of the paying the penalty for not having health insurance. It is more than likely, that the Massachusetts model of shoving those individuals and families under the rug, and giving them a “waiver” from the “tax” will be implemented. In this case, more families will go uninsured and uncounted.
In addition now, that tax has been extended, not only to individual and families but to the animals that they hold near and dear, some of those animals being medical devices themselves! It is clear that the use of dogs for therapy has been growing over the years, from those used to help the disabled, to those who are now helping veterans and others with the effects of PDST. Dogs are known to calm individuals as well as detect problems an individual maybe suffering.
There are worthy aspects of the Affordable Health Care Act – specifically those that are designed to offer extended insurance for those under the age of 26 by allowing them to stay on a parents plan (of course, in Massachusetts, if one’s parent is except, one is out of luck), or those that have pre-existing conditions (those subsidized patients have found the funds have run out, and those that now are applying for insurance having pre-existing conditions are also – out of luck)(KUNM.org)
Again, the only answer for this conundrum we, as a nation face, is an increase in competition, taking the oversight of health insurance out of Washington DC and giving it back to the individual, who would then have choices. Those who could not afford health care at all would still be covered by Medicaid. Only, with a decrease in the overall cost of premiums, those numbers would decrease, as the federal government passes these costs to the states, the states could, if necessary, fund the newly reduced medical plans, rather than administering the program. (See Commonwealth Care)
It is the simple solutions that are so lost on the allegedly “brilliant”.
Now, when one is concerned about finding the cash to pay for their beloved dog’s life saving treatment, or perhaps, pay for a new hip, they can lay the blame clearly on those responsible – The individual seeking a legacy as one who gave the nation Health Care that was “Affordable” and those who blindly went forth and shoved this down the people’s throats. Of course, in 2010, the people stood up and booted a good percentage of those to the curb in an election that resulted in historic losses for Democrats (without making this too partisan, the blame must lay where the blame must lay). Further, unless and until, there are members of Congress and the Senate who will actually work together, and do something other than work towards heir next election, it appears that we all, including our pets, are at the mercy of the ever encroaching government. The only option is to vote, and to watch for those who vote multiple times! (See Ohio, and voting problems in 2012, easily Google, Ohio voted twice, Ohio voted 6 times – and one gets the point of the depths politician’s will go to in order to maintain power.)
At this point, if one has extra funds, and a soft spot for pets, contact your local shelter that provides care, or extends care to families who will no longer be able to afford to keep their beloved dog alive and donate. (For the entire article on the effects of the Obama Care Medical Device Tax on pets go to: Miami.cbslocal.com Moreover, it would behoove the nation to elect more doctor’s rather than lawyers at this point in time
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