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Monday, December 10, 2012

Md. Panel Recommends Taxes, Fees To Pay For Health Exchange

A Maryland panel is recommending that the state charge a combination of taxes and fees to pay for the roughly $35 million annual cost of running the state's health benefits exchange, the insurance marketplace required under the federal health care law.

Among the fees the committee of state lawmakers and health officials suggests are new charges on individual ratepayers and increases to existing charges on health care professionals. Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state legislature will make the final call when the General Assembly session starts in January.

The panel also recommended an increase in the state's tobacco tax. If 18 cents from a tobacco tax increase went to the program, it would cover the exchange's estimated $21.3 million in annual fixed costs, according to the report.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 10, 2012 at 11:35 AM

    A tobacco tax increase will result in less revenue, not more. They tried that with the liquor tax and so many people bought their liquor out of state that the actual revenue received DECREASED!

    Many Maryland residents are close enough to Virginia or Delaware to buy their smokes there and avoid Maryland taxes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. TSDecember 10, 2012 at 1:25 PM

    Actually, the "exchanges" are not "required". The quick answer to this is:

    Let's don't.

    Don't raise taxes.

    Don't set up the exchange.

    Just don't.

    Problem solved.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 10, 2012 at 5:58 PM

    THANK YOU, 1:25! (sorry for the allcaps) but you are so right! If a state does not set up an exchange, there is no cost, no fine, no price to pay!


    DUH!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 11, 2012 at 7:41 AM

    What's one more tax/fee? After all?

    ReplyDelete

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