How's that Obamacare Repeal Working Out For You?

[Speaker to Animals]

That looks like where this is going, honestly.

[Fife]

Then we all agree that the short term is unsustainable.

Which cascade crashes over the wall first, "healthcare" or public pensions? Or am I overlooking something else?

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

I haven't gotten all of the details on it yet, but the most odious aspect (the individual mandate) seems like a goner, along with the tax penalties for non-participation--I like that.
Rather than subsidize health insurance, the idea seems to be "tax credits"--if by credits they mean adjustments to gross income, that's cool: because that would just allow folks who don't normally file a Schedule A (itemized deductions) to adjust their taxable income to zero; however, if by "tax credits" they mean "refundable tax credits"--that may as well be a subsidy afterall. In effect, those who normally would file a 1040EZ or 1040A would be entitled to deduct their medical expenses as an adjustment to income (subject to restrictions and reductions) just as a higher earner can deduct medical expenses on a Schedule A. It's really not much different than allowing a "Qualified Performing Artist" to attach a Form 2106 to a 1040 (usually reserved for a Schedule A) to reduce their gross income because they're too damn poor to otherwise qualify under "miscellaneous expenses" on the Schedule A.
Encouraging HSA's seems like a winner to me--these are nothing new, but they're great if you can pay cash for your regular health care, yet reserve a little something with a modicum of interest and claim it, at least partially as a deduction, and employ it against catastrophic occasions.
So, I'll just wait out the political rhetoric and see what's really in the bill before I can make a determination.

[Martin Hash]

Dude, credits aren't adjustments to gross income, those are deductions. Credits are right off taxes owed. Them'r biggies, especially if they work like EICs. That would mean you could get rich off of high medical bills. Woohoo!

p.s. WTF does healthcare have to do with Income taxes?!

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

Dude, credits aren't adjustments to gross income, those are deductions. Credits are right off taxes owed. Them'r biggies, especially if they work like EICs. That would mean you could get rich off of high medical bills. Woohoo!

That's why I made the distinction--there are tax credits and refundable tax credits, The child tax credit is now a REFUNDABLE tax credit--but it wasn't always.

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

Dude, credits aren't adjustments to gross income, those are deductions. Credits are right off taxes owed. Them'r biggies, especially if they work like EICs. That would mean you could get rich off of high medical bills. Woohoo!

That's why I made the distinction--there are tax credits and refundable tax credits, The child tax credit is now a REFUNDABLE tax credit--but it wasn't always.

EDIT: I should've written "total tax" instead of "adjustments to gross income;" but adjustments are adjustments, not deductions.
(Not that anyone knows what the fuck we're talking about anyway.)
Gross Income;
(Adjustments);
Adjusted Gross Income;
(Deductions/exemptions);
Taxable Income/Tax;
(Credits;)
Other Taxes/Total Tax;
(Refundable Credits;)
Happy Face/Sad Face.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Dude, credits aren't adjustments to gross income, those are deductions. Credits are right off taxes owed. Them'r biggies, especially if they work like EICs. That would mean you could get rich off of high medical bills. Woohoo!

That's why I made the distinction--there are tax credits and refundable tax credits, The child tax credit is now a REFUNDABLE tax credit--but it wasn't always.

That explains why I'm suddenly getting more back in refunds. Claimed the deadweight and kids this year.

[MilSpecs]

IRL would a refundable tax credit benefit the average family to any meaningful extent? For example, one of the college credits is partially refundable, but with fairly low phaseouts credits are sometimes not particularly helpful.

[Alexander PhiAlipson]

IRL would a refundable tax credit benefit the average family to any meaningful extent? For example, one of the college credits is partially refundable, but with fairly low phaseouts credits are sometimes not particularly helpful.

"Refundable" basically translates to "withholding;" meaning that the extent of the credit which does not zero out tax may be applied against "total tax" and what's left over is your "refund." (Though refund is a misleading term.)
You're right about the college tax credit--which was initially only available as a credit, but is now partially refundable, meaning you've already used a portion of it, but there's sufficient remaining to be applied along with withholding, excessive social security, earned income, child tax credit, additional child tax credits &tc. to add together with whatever federal withholding you had taken out of your W-2.
Will it help the average family? No. You've got to be poor or crafty to take advantage of many credits.
And that's why I'm sceptical about the idea. We've got too many refundable tax credits and specific adjustments already--but, on the other hand, if the idea is simply a tax credit which may be applied by someone who would not normally file itemized deductions (Schedule A as opposed to the standard deduction) then I don't have a problem with it as "medical expenses" are already allowed subject to income.
Refundable credits have gotten out of control: EIC was originally designed to offset the cost of Social Security and Medicare paid by the lowest tier of income earners; but when Reagan and Bush came along and wanted to lower taxes for EVERYONE, it became obvious that one cannot lower taxes on people who pay no taxes (Romney's infamous 47%); thus EIC, as well as Child Tax Credits and Additional Child Tax Credits became a means to LOWER taxes on people who already paid no taxes and got refunds without even having withholding.
ACORN provided such tax strategies free of charge so that drug dealers and people who had paid nothing into the system still got thousands out of it just for having a few valid social security numbers.
Thus my trepidation.

[Fife]

Thanks, GOP. Thanks, Donald.

This Secret Obamacare 'Replacement' Lets Your Boss Invade Your Privacy AND Gut Your Paycheck

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan have laid out a three-step process to allegedly "repeal and replace" the misnamed Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "Obamacare." The much-lamented American Health Care Act is step one, regulatory reform is step two, and another piece of legislation would follow as step three. As it turns out, a key measure likely to be included in step three would actually expand a controversial program in Obamacare — subverting employees' genetic privacy rights and enabling employers to gut their paychecks if they don't participate in "workplace wellness" programs.

The "Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act" (H.R. 1313) would allow companies to force employees to undergo genetic testing or risk paying a penalty of thousands of dollars, and let employers see that genetic health information. This law builds upon Obamacare's expansion of workplace wellness programs while undercutting a 2008 law which protects genetic privacy.

Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act

H.R. 1313 removes these protections. It would allow employers to financially penalize people who refuse to disclose their information, forcing workers who can’t afford the penalties to compromise their privacy rights. However, this doesn’t just stop at employees; the law would permit employers to require employees to reveal information about their families’ health as well.

It Might Soon Be Legal for Employers to Force You Into a Genetic Test