One Year Later…10 Things You Didn’t Know About Obamacare

Remember a year ago when VP Joe Biden was caught telling his boss that the massive Healthcare Reform Bill the President had just signed was (using Biden's words) a 'big f**king deal?'

Well folks, I hate to say this, but Joe Biden was right.  This is a big deal.  A big and expensive deal that still has not earned the support of more than half of America.

The as the bill was passed a year ago, a Gallup poll said:

only 49% of us think that passing healthcare reform was a 'good thing.'

40% believe it was a bad thing

11% have no opinion

The people at Gallup asked the same question last week and not a whole lot has changed, except that more people DON'T like the idea:

only 46% support the healthcare reform bill

44% think it's a bad idea

10% have no opinion

Maybe people just don't know enough about what is in the bill.  Remember then-speaker Nancy Pelosi telling us that we needed to pass the bill to find out what was in it?

As you know, they passed the bill, and now we know what is inside it. Bad stuff. Which might explain why even staunch Obamacare supporters like Congressman Anthony Weiner want a waiver for New York City.

But just how bad is it?

The folks at 'Americans For Tax Reform' have combed through the bill and found 10 Expensive Things You Did Not Know About Obamacare:

1. Did you know that . . . since Jan. 1 of this year (2011), you cannot use your flex-account at work (FSA) or health savings account (HSA) to purchase over-the-counter medicines?

2. Did you know that . . . since July 1 of last year (2010), Americans have been paying a 10 percent excise tax on all indoor tanning services?

3. Did you know that . . . starting in 2018, if your health insurance is “too good” or considered a “Cadillac” plan, then you will incur a new 40 percent tax on your health plan?

4. Did you know that . . . Obamacare has 21 new or higher taxes in it, totaling over $500 billion in increased taxes going to the government over 10 years?

5. Did you know that . . . beginning in 2014, individuals and families that do not purchase “qualifying”  -- as defined by federal bureaucrats -- health insurance will be forced to pay a yearly tax penalty?

6. Did you know that . . . 7 tax hikes in Obamacare directly break President Obama’s “firm pledge” not to raise any form of taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 per year and families making less than $250,000 per year?

7. Did you know that . . . the capital gains tax rate under Obamacare will rise to 23.8 percent starting in 2012? That is a 59 percent increase from its current rate.

8. Did you know that . . . in 2013, those Americans facing the highest medical bills and the least ability to pay for them will find their ability to deduct medical expenses is further limited (medical expenses must be reduced by 10 percent of income under Obamacare, rather than current law’s 7.5 percent)

9. Did you know that . . . beginning in 2014, businesses with over 50 employees will be forced to offer health coverage for everyone, or pay a hefty tax for each employee?

10. Did you know that . . . in 2013, Obamacare caps the amount individuals and families can put in their flexible savings accounts at $2500? Currently there is no cap and these accounts are used for a myriad of health expenses including paying upwards of $14,000 in tuition to special needs schools for some parents?

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of nervous about what we will discover when this bill hits the 'terrible twos.\