America stands on the precipice of sweeping liberal health care reform that will radically reshape one-sixth of the U.S. economy, and a 153-page House bill is all that stands between us and a fundamentally changed America.
What will that change look like? Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it," and President Barack Obama said, "By the time the vote has taken place, not only will I know what's in it, you'll know what's in it."
In other words, here's a ticket to ride, get on board, we can't tell you where it's going, but you'll like it once you get there. We promise.
A picture of America's future under Obamacare can be revealed, though, after peeling away the pages and digging through the dirt. Here's 10 things you can expect:
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A Massively Engorged Government, to the tune of $2.5 trillion in new entitlement spending. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), new entitlement spending in the plan would cost $216 billion by 2019, then increase by 8 percent every year thereafter.
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A Cornhusker Kickback for All. No, special deals aren't removed from Obamacare this time around. Instead, the House bill extends new federal funding for Medicaid to all states. Incidentally, you're paying for it.
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A Freight train of taxes, slamming the American people in 2018. You've heard of the "Cadillac" tax on high-cost insurance plans? It will be pushed back to 2018, and given the way "high-cost" plans will be defined, a large segment of the middle class would get hit with the tax over time.
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Beware the shape-shifting tax monster. New taxes will take many forms, including taxes on prescription drugs, medical devices (like wheel chairs), and health insurance.
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Unconstitutional mandates, courtesy of Congress. Don't want to buy health insurance? Congress will penalize you if you don't, regardless of income.
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Lock your back door. Higher health care costs will be sneaking in. The plan gives subsidies to low-to-moderate wage families, but the subsidies will increase at a lower rate than the rate at which premiums increase. In other words, those families will pay more every year.
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Lights out for small businesses? Companies that hire certain low-income Americans will have to pay $3,000 per employee, per year, even if the company offers insurance.Oh, and if a company employs 50 or more workers, they'll face higher tax penalties to the tune of $2,000 per full-time employee.
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Abortions. You will pay for them, like it or not. The House bill includes major funding for community health centers with no restrictions on federal taxpayer funding of abortions.
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Want to play the stock market? Maybe not, after you hear this. The House bill slaps a 3.8% tax on investment income.
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It's not a federal system, after all. States will have less power. They'll no longer have authority to regulate health care premiums. Instead, the federal government will take on the job. States and local governments won't be able to control their own employee health plans; they'll have to abide by new federal regulations.
