July 13, 2012 by MDOPKIN
On June 28, 2012, the United State Supreme Court upheld most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as “Obamacare”, in a 5-4 decision. The key provision of this act, the “individual mandate,” that requires individuals to pay a penalty if they fail to carry health insurance was held constitutional, but the Court found that the requirement to purchase insurance and the mechanism used to explain Medicaid coverage was unconstitutional.
The individual mandate was upheld as constitutional under the federal government’s taxing power. The Medicaid Expansion that would allow the federal government to withhold existing federal Medicaid funding in order to force a state to extend Medicaid coverage to individuals whose income was less than 133% of the applicable federal poverty levels was found to be unconstitutional because it exceeded the federal government’s spending power.
For anyone unclear about the implications for those who already have health insurance coverage, you may want to become familiar with the types of taxes and penalties that will help pay for this program. The federal government plans to spend over $1 trillion over the next ten years to expand Medicaid eligibility and in order to do so, they will reduce federal health funding. These costs may be incurred by insurance companies, corporations, employers and consumers.In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, individuals with questions regarding tax law, or requiring assistance with business planning, entity selection or business organization, including corporate organization, are invited to contact the Dopkin Law Firm to consult with a skilled business planning attorney and tax lawyer. Please call us at 215-519-4269 or fill out our intake form online.