OBAMACARE…LET THE FALLOUT BEGIN

OBAMACARE…LET THE FALLOUT BEGIN

That’s right; it is once again time for:

 Cranky Opinion Saturday

 

There is a bipartisan push in the Senate to repeal a new “Medical Device Tax” that is part of the twenty thousand page “Obamacare” legislation passed three years ago.  This tax it is now determined will have a negative effect on development of new devices and procedures.  Experts in the medical field claim it will increase costs for patients and hurt the companies that produce these devices. 

I don’t know a thing about these devices or the effect of the tax.  I leave it up to politicians to answer those questions and given time I believe this and other items in the “Obamacare” law will be corrected and amended until someday we might get some decent legislation out of it.

Well actually I don’t believe that, but I try and stay positive or at least neutral in this blog.

Anyway, the thing that intrigued me in this whole story was the Obama administration explanation of why the tax which would raise 30 billion dollars over the next ten years is a good tax, and is in fact beneficial to the medical device companies that are affected.

“The Obama administration has defended the medical device tax, saying companies actually stand to benefit from the law. Though the 2.3 percent tax hits the industry, the department argues that the millions of new health care customers insured as a result of the law will increase the demand in hospitals to order more equipment -- in turn boosting medical device companies' profits.”

I don’t know diddlysquat about the economics of this tax or the effects of “Obamacare” but I do know gobbledygook when I hear it, and man can politicians play with facts and numbers. 

First of all, what genius can state unequivocally that any tax will bring in 30 billion dollars over ten years?  I know, X dollars a year on X number of devices blah, blah, blah and simple math will arrive at a figure.  Then this same genius turns away from simple math and extrapolates pure guesswork that “millions of new customers” (courtesy of Obamacare funded by this tax) “will increase demand for products of medical device companies and boost their profits!”

So…this new tax will raise 30 billion dollars over ten years to help fund Obamacare, but the increased number of Obamacare customers will create a demand for devices that will boost prices to more than make up for the tax on these companies. 

Won’t the increased demand that boosts profits and prices make medical care more expensive and negate any benefit of Obamacare?

The EXPERTS are guessing and making stuff up, and my mind is spinning!

You cannot take cut and dry math and make assumptions ten years down the road where there are so many variables it is ridiculous and then make up your own variables to explain how a given tax will benefit not only the beneficiaries of the tax but also those being taxed. 

Well you can, but it is bull spit!

 

The preceding has been the opinion of a cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.