[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Ibram

...and there is nothing else in obamacare to hate. Is there?

Originally Posted by Undertoad

<snip>
We won't really know what to hate about the system until we are knee-deep in it and people are hustling it.

I found the following Timeline to be a relatively easy way to follow
what is in the PPACA (Obamacare) and, of course, when it is to be implemented.

Maybe this will be a way to identify those aspects that people
feel are so onerous they should be eliminated.

Cato Institute
Updated & Revised for 2011
Michael D Tanner
2011

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Timeline for Implementation

2010 (already in place)
Five percent tax imposed on tanning salons.

Seniors with prescription drug costs of at least $2,700 receive a check for $250.
If seniors reach the $2,700 ceiling later in the year, they will receive the check at the
end of the quarter in which they reach the ceiling.

$5 billion for temporary reinsurance program for employers who provide health
insurance coverage for retirees over age 55 who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
The program ends in 2014.
Insurers required to provide coverage for children regardless of preexisting condi-
tions. The prohibition on excluding preexisting conditions does not apply to adults
until 2014.

High-risk pools established to cover adults with preexisting conditions. Pools will
be eliminated after the ban on excluding preexisting conditions goes into effect in
2014.

Parents may keep children on their insurance plan until the child reaches age 26.

Lifetime caps on insurance benefits prohibited.

2011 ============
Medicare payroll tax increases from 1.45 percent to 2.35 percent for individuals
earning more than $200,000 and married filing jointly above $250,000.

A three-year phase-out of subsidies to Medicare Advantage begins. Some seniors
may be forced back into traditional Medicare.

States must expand Medicaid eligibility to all individuals with incomes below
133 percent of the poverty line. The federal government will cover the cost of this
expansion until 2017.

Businesses with fewer than 25 employees and average wages below $50,000 be-
come eligible for a tax credit to help offset the cost of providing insurance to their
workers. The credit applies to 2010 taxes filed in 2011.

Maximum contributions to flexible spending accounts (FSAs) reduced from
$5,000 to $2,500. FSAs and health savings accounts (HSAs) cannot be used to
purchase over-the-counter medications.

Workers begin contributing to the CLASS Act long-term care program, or may
opt out of the program.

$2.5 billion in new taxes are imposed on the pharmaceutical industry. The tax,
or assessment, rises to $4.2 billion by 2018, and is imposed on manufacturers
according to a formula based on the company’s aggregate revenue from branded
prescription drugs.

2012 ============
Businesses required to complete 1099 forms for every business-to-business trans-
action of $600 or more.

2013 ============
2.3 percent excise tax imposed on sale of medical devices.

Floor for deducting medical expenses from income taxes rises from 7.5 percent of
income to 10 percent.

The Employer Medicare Part D subsidy deduction for employers eliminated. Em-
ployers will lose the tax deduction for subsidizing prescription drug plans for
Medicare Part D–eligible retirees.

The 3.8 percent Medicare tax is applied to capital gains and interest and dividend
income if an individual’s total gross income exceeded $200,000 or a couple’s
income exceeds $250,000.

An $8 billion tax is imposed on insurers, based on market share. The tax rises to
$14.3 billion by 2018.

2014 Individual mandate imposed. With few exceptions, every American is required to
have a government-designed minimum insurance package. Failure to comply will
result in a fine equal to 1 percent of income. The penalty increases to 2 percent in
2015, and finally to 2.5 percent in 2016.

Employer mandate imposed. Companies with 50 or more employees must offer
coverage to employees or pay a $2,000 penalty per employee after their first 30
if at least one of their employees receives a tax credit. Employers who offer cov-
erage but whose employees receive tax credits will pay $3,000 for each worker
receiving a tax credit.

All insurance must meet federal minimum benefit requirements.

Prohibition on preexisting condition exclusions applies to adults.

Health plans prohibited from imposing annual limits on coverage.

Subsidies begin for individuals and families with incomes up to 400 percent of
the poverty line. Refundable tax credits limit the percent of income that must be
paid for either insurance premiums or out-of-pocket expenses.

Insurance exchanges become operational.

2015 ============
Independent Medical Advisory Commission (IMAC) established.

2016 ============
Individuals may begin collecting benefits from CLASS Act long-term care pro-
gram.

2017 ============
States have option to allow large employers to participate in exchanges.

States must begin covering part of the cost of Medicaid expansion.

2018 ============
“Cadillac” insurance tax imposed on high-cost, employer-provided health plans
with an actuarial value exceeding $27,500 for family coverage and $10,200 for individual coverage.