Ok, this side of the board has been quiet for some time, thought I would kick off the new season with some of our more passionate posters.
How about that Obamacare and is it really going to benefit the middle class and small business owners?
It really depends on the business and the worker in question. Obviously, those who make large amounts of money will feel some pain via the 0.9% increase in their taxes, but I doubt there will be much sympathy from a majority of Americans on that front.
Those who earn up to 133% of the federal poverty level will now be eligible for Medicaid. Those who make too much to qualify for Medicaid (but can't afford health insurance right now) will get tax credits to pay for capped premiums and capped out-of-pocket costs. I really don’t see Americans opting to pay a useless fine in lieu of buying insurance, so the droves of consumers who walk into the ER and waltz out without paying the bill will dwindle dramatically.
The consumer protections are really the tenets of this legislation that, regardless of who wins elections moving forward, will stand from this point on. The fact that people won't be able to be dropped or denied because of a medical condition will benefit many right from the jump. The fact that lifetime maximums are now prohibited will make many families breathe a sigh of relief.
I suspect that some provisions will undergo changes as the years pass from now to 2014, but in the end I think we'll be better off with the final product than what we have been saddled with up to this point.
