Democrats Taxing Insurance Benefits – The Disastrous Road to Paying for Health Care Reform

From CBS News: Congressional Democrats are seeking for ways to fund the proposed health care reform plan – the way out – taxing those who have Cadillac insurance plans purchased either privately or through employers. The Senate has also considered assessing taxes on insurance plans, as well as “fining” individuals who do not choose to carry insurance.

Further, from Politico

This doesn't happen often enough.
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.
Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."
The note was a follow-up to Ensign's questioning at the markup.

The Note:

Note from Senate - Fees Assessed on Non Compliance of Federal Health Care

The Citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, (who groan each time one of the harebrained programs that burden the remaining tax base is exported nationally), currently pay fees (taxes) for not carrying health insurance, fees that are paid to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (see Tax) – that said, the Senate Version of “how to pay for the Democrats Health Care Reform Bill” includes something new – fines and jail time for non-compliance.

Personal liberty erosion aside, the fact that the majority of individuals who “choose” not to carry health insurance do so because they cannot afford coverage, (yes, Virginia, even in Massachusetts), they either make too much money to qualify for the State Plan (based on last year’s income), and many are faced with loss of income either through job loss or wage cuts. Additionally, the Commonwealth has the option of garnering wages in order to collect these “fees”. Under the plan proposed in the Senate of theses United Sate, if someone cannot afford the premium, one gets hit with a fine, which, given circumstances, they may not be able to pay, and therefore, they are further taxed, and/or imprisoned and once can bet the house, one’s wages may also be on the line – or one’s unemployment benefits.

On the one hand, with all the bells and whistles being placed into plans devised by both branches of Congress, including insuring those who are not legal citizens of these United States, someone has to pay the price – the likely target – those who somehow still have nickel to rub together so to speak. It is, in a word, ridiculous that those who have grown so comfortable in Seats to which they feel entitled, have the gall to dictate these types of provisions to the very people who hire them to do the job in the first place. Understanding that the system is broken, looking for ways to fix or enhance the system so that those who currently have coverage they are paying for out of pocket, would maintain their coverage, (without penalty of taxation), that those who for whatever reason are unable to afford coverage but make too much (according to whatever bar the State/Federal Government sets), should be given reasonable options for alternate plans; not penalized, further taxed and threatened with imprisonment for not having health insurance – and those who are already receiving Medicaid, the uninsured, the indigent, those who cross borders without benefit of legality, are currently set - It is the middle class that comes under attack once again, by those entrenched politician’s who cannot see the forest through the trees – The options proposed are ludicrous – if one cannot afford a plan, then one should seriously study alternatives prior to ramming a ridiculous mess down the proverbial throats of the American populace. There is a model in place, Massachusetts, and it is a story of deficits in the billions, with taxes and fees assessed on those who fall through the cracks - It is a blueprint for the Federal government on what not to do – but in ignorance, a sense of entitlement and a false sense of superiority, they appear to go forward and follow blindly. The solution: vote against any congressman or senator, regardless of party, who would further harm the citizens’ individual rights while further eroding the economy.