In a letter to Congress, the AARP states a 64-year old making $15,000 a year could face health insurance premiums of up to $8,400 under the GOP House healthcare bill. Steven Dennis highlights part of the letter in the following tweet.
A regularly employed person earning $15,000 a year would pay $1,147.50 in FICA taxes leaving $13,852.50 before any other deductions if the employer did not provide a health plan. Not only would this person have to forego a flagship smartphone, he or she would also have to give up utilities, shelter, clothing and transportation.
That $454.38 average monthly income after premiums wouldn’t be enough for food and any deductibles or prescription copays if the 64-year old has a condition that needs ongoing treatment. But it’s all about lowering costs and offering choices like whether to put a roof over your head or pay your insurance premiums and which canned cat food tastes the best, the Ocean Whitefish or the Chicken in Real Gravy.
The AARP has been running a video describing the GOP bill as an age tax. If the Unaffordable Care Act becomes law, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near that ax if I were Charlie the squirrel, especially in Mitch McTurtle’s neck of the woods where pickled squirrel brains are considered a delicacy.