Pirate's Cove

Remember Reagan’s saying about government?

Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

When it comes to Obamacare, it seems more like

Government’s view of the health insurance/care could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, regulate it. If it keeps moving, subsidize it. And if it stops moving, tax it.

Yup

(Daily Caller) Washington, D.C. will tax all insurers selling policies to district residents to fund the city’s Obamacare exchange.

The plan was proposed by DC Health Link, D.C.’s exchange. The city’s health care law marketplace was allotted $133 million in federal grants to launch, but along with all the state marketplaces, was expected to be soon be sustainable on its own via a flat tax placed on each insurance plan sold through the marketplace.

When taxing those buying insurance didn’t turn out to be as lucrative as Congress had hoped, D.C., along with several other states, began to look at taxing those selling insurance instead.

The Obamacare exchange has a 2015 budget of $28.8 million and hopes to fill its coffers by collecting another fee from insurers.

The plan will tax all insurers an extra 1%. This includes those insurers who declined to participate in Obamacare. Insurance companies wonder about the legality of taxing those who did not participate, but, hey, this is the era of Obama: the law is what Liberals feel it is.

Anyhow, insurers are already being taxed out the ying yang thanks to Ocare. And they pass those taxes on to consumers. They wouldn’t do that with the new tax, right?

Obamacare’s insurer tax will likely be passed onto customers in the form of higher premiums, however. The health insurance tax alone is expected to raise premiums by $101 on average this year alone, according to a March study from the free-market think tank American Action Forum.

Wait, I thought this was supposed to be the Affordable Care Act? Isn’t it right there in the name?

I do have to wonder where the D.C. Exchange has the statutory authority to implement a new tax. Oh, wait, that’s right, the Era Of Obama, where law means nothing.