Insight

Business Paperwork Burden and Health Reform Financing

Recent press coverage highlights a provision meant to help fund improvements to public health under the Affordable Care Act. Some arguably believe that closing tax collection loopholes will cause an undue burden on small businesses. http://tinyurl.com/2fjffc8 

As with many things in a really big piece of legislation like the Affordable Care Act, sometimes adjustments need to be made. It all depends on how you make those adjustments.  Right now, there are dueling pieces of legislation to amend the law—and one of them will gut essential funding for public health improvement and weaken the provisions that would help cover everyone.

So what is this all about?  The law is going to require businesses to formalize more of their expense reporting by decreasing the threshold for filing 1099 forms.  Turns out this provision was actually proposed by the Bush administration twice as a means to cut down on under-reported income that hurts those who do report their incomes and pay their taxes.

Here are the Cliff Notes from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities:

“Johanns amendment. Senator Johanns proposes to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act provision. While the amendment’s proponents can point to instances where the provision would prove burdensome, simply repealing it would leave in place a reporting regime that has been clearly demonstrated to be inadequate (given the large degree of noncompliance) and that harms small businesses which do not under-report their income. Repeal would also reject the recommendations of the IRS, the GAO, and the Treasury Department under Presidents from both parties.

Nelson amendment. Senator Nelson has offered a balanced approach that responds to concerns over paperwork burdens while still strengthening tax compliance. To address one of the most controversial aspects of the original provision — extending the reporting requirement to payments for goods and property — the amendment would exempt businesses with fewer than 25 employees and, for larger firms, significantly increase (from $600 to $5,000) the threshold for payments that must be reported. The amendment would also give Treasury the regulatory flexibility to further limit the requirement both before and after its 2012 implementation.”

Here is some more info from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities http://tinyurl.com/22lcgcl  You can read their whole paper on this, but if you’d rather cut to the chase, here’s what is really important --

New High Risk Insurance Plan for Uninsured NH Residents

  by Jeanne Ryer, EH Program Director

On July 1, New Hampshire opened its version of the high risk insurance plan created by the Affordable Care Act. The new plan will run alongside the “original” high-risk insurance plan, the New Hampshire Health Plan.  The NH Health Plan – Federal is less expensive, because it is subsidized by the federal government, but you must have been uninsured for at least six months to be eligible.  The new federal high risk plan is intended as a bridge to help people with serious medical issues to get coverage between now and 2014, when the insurance exchanges and expanded Medicaid will be available. NH will get up to $20 million to help cover extra costs of people using this Plan. Visit http://www.nhhealthplan.org  for info.

National Health Reform Implementation in New Hampshire

 Did you see the recent op-ed by Lisa Kaplan Howe of NH Voices for Health? It ran in Seacoast Online and elsewhere: 

  “National Health Reform Implementation in New Hampshire”.

Health Reform – What’s In It for NH?

by Jeanne Ryer, EH Program Director

 

As the Affordable Care Act moves from promise into practice, everyone is asking all of the health policy wonks, “What does it mean... for me, for my mom, for my new college grad, for my business, for our hospital, for the State, for our town, for the country?”

 

To start our new InSight blog on health reform implementation for New Hampshire, it seems like a good idea to start trying to answer that question.  At the Endowment for Health, we’re not agnostic about health reform. We think it is good and needed policy for the country and for our state. Sure, there will be some wrinkles and some bumps, but overall, it is a long overdue change for the better. 

 

So stay tuned to this site (InSight, pun probably intended), for more of the who and the when and how of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect New Hampshire’s residents.

InSight: The Double Entendre of Health Reform Communications

Karen Ager, Director of Communications, Endowment for Health

Welcome to InSight, the blog of the Endowment for Health.  In this space, you will find frequent, incisive commentary that cuts through the political noise, confusion and rhetoric of health reform. Here, you'll find nonpartisan viewpoints from Endowment for Health subject matter experts, as well as the occasional guest blogger from the "glitterati" of the NH health system.

Our goal is to spark a conversation about key provisions of the new law as well as the challenges and opportunities New Hampshire faces in implementing it. With this historic legislation, our country has taken major steps toward health equity for all. But with more still to be done, we will strive to keep you abreast of developments that impact policy and our system of care. We hope to inspire you and sometimes provoke you. By all means, we plan to inform you. Visit InSight often for, yes, insight on how to keep the overarching goals of health reform implementation in sight.