ObamaCare And Its Unbridled Regulatory Powers

One of the biggest problems with ObamaCare is that it was written in such a way that Health and Human Services (HHS) and the IRS have the power to create new mandates; completely circumventing the power of Congress.

A week ago last Friday,  Health and Human Services clearly proved this fact when that department issued a regulatory notification that a new tax of 3.5% will be imposed on all health insurance policies that are sold through exchanges in states that have refused to set up their own; thus forcing the federal government to establish its own exchange.  Right now, the governors of 21 states have said no to setting up a state-run health insurance exchange.

HHS claims this "user tax" is simply needed to cover their administrative costs of being forced to set up and maintain federal exchanges in lieu of state-run exchanges.  Now, that might well be true if this new tax was more in line with what HHS claims as administrative costs for maintaining other programs like Medicare.  But, this fee is higher; suggesting that it is not just simply a fee to cover administrative costs but, also, a form of punishment to those states who have elected to sidestep the non-binding mandates of ObamaCare. 

The bottom line is that this is a new tax; not passed into law by Congress and one that will hit all those in the middle class that are forced to buy insurance through exchanges.  Anyone who thinks that this kind of power isn't something that every American should worry about is just whistling past the graveyard.   My guess is that, as ObamaCare struggles financially, you can expect all kinds of new taxes on health care and you and I will have no representation in Congress to stop it.  To me, it sounds a lot like the rationale that was behind the original Boston Tea Party.

---  Washington Post: Feds Propose A 3.5% Fee On Insurers Who Want to Participate In New Health Care Markets: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/feds-propose-35-percent-fee-on-insurers-who-want-to-participate-in-new-health-care-markets/2012/11/30/31e36dc6-3b38-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html