What's Next To Change In The Health Reform Law?
Updated at 10:16 a.m.
House Democrats last week tried to pass legislation to repeal a tax provision in the health care overhaul law that required businesses to file 1099 tax returns any time they receive $600 or more in exchange for a good or service. Small business groups had decried the provision, saying it would become a hindrance.
Republicans in the House initially supported a similar proposal from Ways and Means ranking member Dave Camp, R-Mich., but ultimately voted against the Democrats' bill, opposing how the legislation was paid for.
The House vote comes after HHS announced new regulations last week on high-risk pools, banning all abortion coverage in the insurance plans, even if states use their own funds to pay for the procedure. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate believe this goes beyond the president's March executive order, which only explicitly bans using federal dollars for abortions in the 2014 exchanges and community health centers.
Do you think Congress will repeal the 1099 filing requirements this session? Will the House or the Senate eventually act to clarify abortion coverage in the law? What other provisions are next to be "fixed" or repealed?
August 2, 2010 4:51 PM
Kill the Job-Killing Mandate
By James P. Gelfand
Director, Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The 1099 paperwork burden needs to go for many reasons - not only will it hurt businesses and cost jobs at a time when we can ill-afford it, but even the IRS taxpayer advocate says it will not be helpful in raising revenue, just causing a paperwork nightmare. What is sad is that Democrats in Congress are holding 1099 repeal hostage - they don't want to let another crisis go to waste, so they decided to tell Americans that if you don't want the 1099 nightmare, you have to agree to a host of other tax increases. Americans want Washington to cut spending, not find creative new ways to raise taxes.
We built a website for businesses to share their stories about implementing the new health care law (http://www.HealthReformImpacts.com) and nearly all of them talk about the 1099 pr...
The 1099 paperwork burden needs to go for many reasons - not only will it hurt businesses and cost jobs at a time when we can ill-afford it, but even the IRS taxpayer advocate says it will not be helpful in raising revenue, just causing a paperwork nightmare. What is sad is that Democrats in Congress are holding 1099 repeal hostage - they don't want to let another crisis go to waste, so they decided to tell Americans that if you don't want the 1099 nightmare, you have to agree to a host of other tax increases. Americans want Washington to cut spending, not find creative new ways to raise taxes.
We built a website for businesses to share their stories about implementing the new health care law (http://www.HealthReformImpacts.com) and nearly all of them talk about the 1099 provision and the devastating effects it will have. If Congress wants to help businesses and get rid of this mandate, they need to stop playing games (and writing letters) and pass Senator Johanns' S. 3758, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act, along with Rep. Lungren's House companion, H.R. 5141. But it seems like they might not want to do that. Maybe they will change their minds after November.
The next piece that needs to be repealed is the job-killing requirement that businesses purchase government-approved health insurance or pay crippling fines. At $2,000 to $3,000 per employee, these fines will destroy countless businesses, especially those with low profit margins. Think about restaurants, retailers, service industry, etc. Even worse, the mandate will disproportionately harm low-skill, low-income workers, because they'd be more likely to trigger $3,000 fines. Say goodbye to janitors, servers, cashiers... and say hello to more independent contractors, more outsourcing, more forced part-time status... all the things we do NOT need in this economy.
Luckily Senator Hatch has introduced S. 3501, the American Jobs Protection Act. This bill would repeal the mandate, saving jobs and helping to ease the paralyzing fear that is keeping businesses from expanding and hiring. This is next on the list, and it needs to get done before 2014 - if we are serious about wanting to spur the economy and create jobs, it should be passed immediately.
Read More