Late last year, I wrote an article arguing that the Federal government should extend the health care subsidies for Obamacare (a.k.a. Affordable Care Act) at a cost of $138 billion to keep 24.3 million citizens insured. This was ignored by the Administration, and approximately 2.5 million people dropped their coverage due to affordability. Dropping coverage will further strain hospital E.R.’s and the “free and charitable” clinics (like Turning Points here in Bradenton) that are providing basic care and holding the social fabric of our society together.
So, I have a second proposal for the Congress to consider… Mandate that all of the uninsured, which now has swelled to 28.5 million, are automatically enrolled in the ACA with a monthly premium of $100 for adults and no charge for children 18 and under. The $100 monthly charge will be enacted as a Form 1040 tax and automatically reduce any enrollee’s child care credits or earned income credits as the primary method of payment. A monthly bill will be sent by the IRS to those who are not eligible for these credits, with standard IRS wage garnishment for non-payers.
The total cost of the program (assuming 22 million adults and 6.5 million children is $162.5 billion, but incoming premiums and reduced tax credits will reduce the total cost of the program to $136.1 billion. In the context of a roughly $6 trillion annual federal budget, this seems a very small price to pay in order to provide an essential human service to all Americans.
Mike Meehan, CFA, MBA
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rayfusco68
Mike, I agree with you that the elimination of the ACA subsidies was a morally corrupt decision, without a solution to provide healthcare to all US citizens. The increase in the uninsured will lead to increased personal bankruptcies (the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the US is currently medical debt), increased use of the ERs by the uninsured driving up uncompensated care, increased death due to no access to costly medications and physician care, increased insurance premiums for workers and businesses, due to the uncompensated care. The ultimate answer is universal healthcare like every other first world nation. We pay double the amount per person compared to every other developed nation and rank at or near the bottom for quality every year. Universal healthcare will reduce the cost of healthcare while increasing the quality. Universal healthcare will be good for corporations and individuals.
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