Pieces of the health care financing pies

November 25, 2009

In conjunction with the impending Thanksgiving holiday, specifically the dessert portion of the day, a blog item containing pie charts seemed fitting.

And since Turkey Day-related overeating or reckless wielding of a carving knife or straining your voice yelling for (or at) your favorite football team could result in a trip to the doctor, it's even more appropriate that we've found some pie charts dealing with health care reform.

All of us tax geeks and political wonks can be very thankful that instead of forcing us to squint at rows and rows of tiny numerals, the Tax Foundation (and its Tax Policy Blog) prepared colorful pie charts to demonstrate how the House and Senate propose to pay for their respective proposals.

The $848 billion health care reform legislation unveiled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last week is financed primarily through cuts to Medicare provider payments (which would save $330.6 billion, or 34 percent of the bill's 10-year cost) and a 40 percent excise tax on high-value "Cadillac" health plans (which would generate $149.1 billion, or 15 percent of the bill's cost), according to the Tax Foundation's review of the Congressional Budget Office's analysis.

 
Senate_health_financing_TaxFoundation112309

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Across Capitol Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's more-costly bill — more than $1 trillion — also includes cuts to Medicare spending, but most of the money in that overhaul plan would come from a surtax on wealthier taxpayers.

House_health_financing_TaxFoundation112309

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How will these pieces of revenue pie finally be sliced? Put on your budget apron and stay tuned.

Speaking of pies: Thanksgiving is tomorrow, which means family, friends, football and food, including pies. Here's hoping your holiday is a good one. And go ahead and have that extra piece of pumpkin pie. It is a holiday, after all.

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We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.

Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.

The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

Comments
  • This health care bill is a real mess. It will take years to sort this out and who knows how much money it will cost in the end.

  • I agree that it will take a while to determine if this all was worth it. Personally, I’d like to see us address other ills that we have as a nation. Keep your fingers crossed.

  • This new tax bill scares me, but the pie charts make me hungry. I think when its all said and done the spending on healthcare will be so much more than anticipated. Time will tell if it was worth it.

  • In conjunction with the impending Thanksgiving holiday, specifically the dessert portion of the day, a blog item containing pie charts seemed fitting.

Comments are closed.