Can someone give me some info concerning the IRS people who will be

[secondwind]

overseeing the payment of premiums (?) under the new HCR bill?

How much "power" do they have?

What is their role?

Am being blasted with questions and I admit I'm in the dark about this one!!!


ANYONE, PLEASE?

[Ozymanithrax]

1. You know, this doesn't go into effect until 2014

So,you will not see it on your income tax tuntil 2015.

However, the IRS has the power to force you to pay.

But...

You do know that if healthcare will cost more than 8% of your income that you will not have to pay.
If you have health care through your work, you do not have to pay...
If you qualify for Medicaid, you do not have to pay...
If you qualify for Medicare, you do not have to pay...
If you are a member of some religions, you are exempt from paying...
If your state initiates some for of state run health care system, you do not have to pay...

I think you may be worrying a little be early about this. But, better early than late.

[secondwind]

2. Wow, thanks a million!

[vaberella]

9. Basically there is no mandate because of all the provisions. Most people still scream mandate. n/t

[nightrain]

3. isn't it ironic that in order not to be beholden to the disease management

corporations, an uninsured person who can't pay more than x% of their income to them STILL doesn't get care from "health care reform"? And I thought the point of "health care reform" was to get health CARE. Must have been my mistaken idealism....

[Ozymanithrax]

5. They are also expanding community clinics so more people can be covered..

Medicaid is being expanded to cover more people and the pay structure will go up to the same as Medicare, ending the complaints that they don't pay enough. State Insurance pools allow people to buy insurance at a lower cost.

No one said that if it cost you more than 8% of your income that you wouldn't get health care, just that you wouldn't get the tax credit for having insurance.

The expectation is that this program will bring costs of health care down to the point where most Americans can afford it, and those that can not will be covered by Medicaid and community health clinics.

I suspect if we continue to see the increase in costs, other measures will be put into place.

As is true today, most Americans are going to get health care through their jobs. This system should expand access.

But, if it does not work as planned there is they can now simply amend the bill rather than write and health care legislation from scratch. Health Care is now an entitlement and future legislation will be aimed at making it more easily and more cheaply available to people.

[vaberella]

10. 200+ Billion in federal funding. n/t

[nightrain]

13. we've delved into many of those issues elsewhere on DU.

For instance, Medicaid and CHCs--You might be aware of the financial problems most states are having so that cost-sharing programs such as Medicaid are having to reduce services. And same goes for CHCs. I refer you to an article about Arizona's extreme difficulty and decision to massively reduce CHC services.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/03/24/20100324arizona-non-profit-clinics-cuts.html

Medicaid and CHC funding are both known for their precarious funding, subject to grant availability and subsequent poor continuity of care. It's poor policymaking to base health sevices on such capricious funding.

State insurance pools are subject to the same issues and are notoriously restrictive and expensive to use.

Essentially, if one is of middle income, middle aged, and doesn't have employer coverage, the subsidies do not apply, the premiums are at least 2x the cost and the high risk pools will be financially prohibitive. THAT'S the lack of CARE.

Now that the disease management corporations have been mandated to be the foundation of the financing and delivery of "care", it is most unlikely that costs will decrease. They already take 30% off the top and there are limited cost controls.

I think your assumptions that major improvements will be made are very unrealistic. The corporations' power will more likely increase as they shift costs more to their subscribers. This "Senate" bill was essentially written by the insurance corporations and the drug manufacturers, so there is no reason to believe that they will be reined in now, or any time in the future. They more likely will become even more invulnerable.

Check out the kaiser calculations for a 57 year old, making 45K, who doesn't have an employer contributing to the cost of the premium--

http://healthreform.kff.org/SubsidyCalculator.aspx

Just the premium itself would amount to 7K and be 15.8% of annual income. That's unaffordable, and no high risk plan would be any less expensive. So, the person ends up with a ?fine, a waiver from the mandate?, and no change in their healthcare accessbility.

"Simply amend"?? I won't hold my breath, the corporations will fight it tooth and nail.

[old guy]

4. Just tell them to call the IRS for that info.

I used to track down all kinds of answers for people, but do little of it any more. Google and Snopes are good places for them to start their own investigations.

[mikelgb]

6. watch Wiener v. o'Rielly

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=447350&mesg_id=447350

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

7. The bill specifically prohibits liens and levies...

So it would appear the worst the IRS could do is sieze your refund.

Hint: Have low withholding on your W-2 so you don't have a refund.

[Hippo_Tron]

11. Don't start bringing facts into this discussion, you'll ruin all of the "debtor's prison" hysteria

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. It doesn't specifically rule out the use of thumb screws....

Is that helpful?

[kestrel91316]

8. I seriously doubt the IRS will be hiring people whose sole job is to go after

those who didn't comply with a single item on their tax return, lol.

COME 2014, when the mandate kicks in, I am pretty sure that enforcing collection of this fee will be done by the same drones that collect every other dollar due the IRS. They have the power to file liens and garnish wages and seize bank acounts, just like they do if you owe income tax.

If somebody told you that there was a special army of IRS agents just to collect this fee, they were jerking your chain.

[phleshdef]

12. Oh give me a fucking break. It would be like any other tax you may owe.

[prolesunited]

15. I heard that thousands of agents will be hired

They will go door to door and ask you to produce your proof of medical insurance. If you can't, they will place you in cuffs and take you to the special prisons being built for health insurance scofflaws.
:scared:

[LiberalFighter]

16. It will be no different IMO than what is currently in place.

Your employer sends you the information so you can file your tax return. Well guess what? Your employer also sends that exact same info to the IRS.

Sec 9002 covers the requirement of employers to include the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage on W-2s. This goes into effect starting for the 2010 tax year.

They probably have something no different than what they already have in place that can handle those that buy into the exchange program for those that don't have employer provided insurance. You will buy into the exchange program via your employer if you have one whether your employer has been providing health insurance or not. Other issues I'm sure won't take much to work out.