HEALTH CARE REFORM AND ITS IMPACT ON ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES

At the same time, the Health Care Reform implies a considerable rise in spending on the health care system. For instance, specialists argue that for 2013-2016, the threshold for deducting medical expenses increases from 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income to 10 percent. The threshold is not changed for individuals who are at least age 65 by the end of the year (Russell, 2010). In such a way, taxpayers will have to pay more to cover costs of the Health Care Reform. Moreover, specialists warn that beginning in 2013, the 1.45 percent employee portion of Medicare tax will increase by 0.9 percent for taxpayers with earned income in excess of $200,000, or $250,000 for joint filers (Russell, 2010).

Obviously, such changes and a considerable rise in taxes will become unaffordable for businesses. Therefore, it is not only employers, who will have to cover health care costs but also employees, who should participate in the health care coverage. In this regard, specialists argue that any tax not fully withheld and then subsequently remitted by the employer must be paid by the employee through their tax return. This also applies to self-employment income (Russell, 2010). Consequently, the fiscal pressure will increase not only on businesses but also on employees. However, it is unclear whether employees will be able to afford such pressure, if they cannot afford health care services today, when businesses take a considerable part of the health care coverage.

Finally, retired employees also face substantial risk of deteriorating their position after the implementation of the Health Care Reform. Specialists argue that if the proposed tax change is enacted, only retiree drug claims exceeding the RDS reimbursements would be deductible. This decrease in future tax deductions would reduce the deferred tax asset on plan sponsors’ balance sheets, which could create an equal reduction in sponsors’ net income during the year of enactment (Bruno & Bergner, 2009). In fact, if no changes are introduced in the Health Care Reform, the aforementioned change will lead to the reduction of net income considerably (Bruno & Bergner, 2009). In such a situation, retired employees are under a threat because they can fail to afford health care services, although they were certain in their future under the present health care regulations and accounting norms.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the Health Care Reform is likely to lead to considerable changes in the health care accounting. In fact, the funding of health care system will change consistently. The changes proposed in terms of the Health Care Reform are likely to increase the fiscal pressure on average taxpayers. Business will hardly be able to afford health care coverage for their employees to the full extent. Therefore, employees are likely to participate more in the health care coverage but it is unclear whether employees and business will afford such changes. At the same time, the proposed changes make the health care accounting more complicated, whereas the proposed system of penalties may become an unbearable burden for the national health care system and taxpayers. In addition, the purchase of over-the-counter drugs and medical-related items may become more complicated that puts under a question the effectiveness of health care services after the reform being implemented.



Leave a Reply