As more and more Americans begin to look at the new health care bill that President Obama signed into law, questions and uncertainty grow.  Many are asking, how will this affect my family and business?  For many individuals and states, it means higher costs, less choice and increased taxes.  A recently released report from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has estimated that this legislation will increase national health care expenditures by $311 billion.

One of the top concerns with the health care reform bill is the mandates that will be placed on individuals and states.  Beginning in 2014, most Americans will be forced to obtain health care insurance or face a fine.  The penalty for not being insured is set at $695 per person or 2.5 percent of household income, whichever is greater.  The Congressional Budget Office has shown that this tax penalty for not obtaining health care will fall squarely on the middle class. Concerns have been raised as to the constitutionality of this mandate and 20 states are currently challenging the individual mandate in court.

In addition, the uninsured and those employers who don’t offer coverage will pay $120 billion in taxes, according to a recent report by the CMS.  Furthermore, new reforms place undue mandates on states, which are already facing serious financial difficulties due to the recession.  The states will be forced to add an estimated 16 million to the Medicaid rolls without any means to fix the costly and inefficient system that exists today. 

 Many in Congress have called for the repeal of the portions of the health care bill that restrict the freedom of choice of Americans and increase pressure on financially strapped states.  The tax penalties related to these reforms are only part of the $570 billion in overall tax increases contained in the bill. In addition, while the measure forces states to add to Medicaid rolls, it cuts funding for the Medicare Advantage program that so many of our seniors depend on.

Our health care system needs to be reformed, but eliminating choice will not lead to an improved system.  The recently passed reforms do not do enough to address the inefficiency of the current system and lower the costs of health care, but instead take massive steps in reigning in American’s personal freedoms and imposing unfunded mandates on to states.

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