ObamaCare And The “New Mommy Tax”, Ie “Why Does Obama Hate Women, Children and Minorities”

by William Teach | October 8, 2009 10:00 am

Yeah, yeah, I know I really shouldn’t call it ObamaCare, since, like virtually every other policy, Obama gives a speech then votes “present!” In this case, he has outsourced all the health system destruction legislation out to Congress. We’re still waiting for Obama’s actual plan, which he said weeks ago he would supply.

Anyhow, Amanda Carpenter let’s us know that the tampon tax has been replaced by the Mommy Tax[1]

When Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus proposed taxing medical devices to raise $40 billion over the next 10 years for his health care plan, opponents started digging in and looking at what would be taxed. It turned out feminine products, like tampons, were classified as class I medical devices and thus, the “tampon tax” was born.

The backlash was quick and severe enough against the idea that the committee quickly drafted new language that would exempt those necessities from the tax, along with all other class I devices, like tongue depressors, and decided to only tax class II medical devices and higher that cost more than $100.

But, just wait for the revolt to start again because women will still pay a price under the new structure. Particularly new moms who want to use a powered breast pump to bottle milk for their babies. Those devices, labeled class II, typically retails for more than $100.

And, all the rest of the more expensive, higher-class medical devices used by both men and women — such as pacemakers, ventilators, X-ray machines, powered wheelchairs and surgical needles — will be taxed, too.

Ed Morrissey does the yeoman’s work in uncovering other medical devices that will be taxed[2], such as

• Dentures, both partial and full (Class VI) (will this include crowns and fillings?)
• Female condoms, single use (Class III)
• Treponemal syphilis test (Class IV) (well, maybe people should be careful regarding their sexual partners)
• HIV saliva test kit (Class IV) (ditto)
• Patient data storage and transmission software (Class VI) (and the tax will be passed straight to you, the patient)
• Stair-climbing wheelchair (Class III)
• Inflatable penis prosthetic (Class III) (I really do not want to print the joke that went through my mind)
• Hip, knee, ankle, breast prosthetics (Class III) (before a joke is made about breast implants, consider that many are used after masectomies)
• Soft contact lenses, extended wear (Class III) (this would affect quite a few people, eh?)
• IUDs (Class III)
• Dialysis catheters (Class III)
• Dental X-rays (Class II)
• Sickle-cell anemia tests (Class II)
• Mammograms (Class II)

Doesn’t that sound great? The full list, thanks to Ed, is here[3].

How does this actually reduce your medical costs? If Big Government is hosing me on my contacts, and hosing my medical services providers on my medical records, sure seems like my costs will escalate.

But, then, that is one of the many problems with this whole plan. We have no idea what the costs actually are. Who is covered? What are the co-pays? What are the reimbursements? What are the deductibles? What are the premiums? In-network/out-of-network? Generic vs. name brand? Limitations? Out-of-pocket maximums? If the government denies your claim, who do you complain to and sue? When your company finds that it is cheaper to pay the fine rather than pay for your health insurance and drops their offering, you might be asking those same questions.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[4]