Dive Brief:
- The IRS has issued final rules on how it will collect billions of dollars in taxes to pay for ACA-related expenses.
- The regulations include a new tax on insurers which will kick in next year; which is expected that the new tax will raise nearly $60 billion over the next five years.
- The health insurance tax will help pay for premium subsidies to help low and moderate-income consumers buy coverage through the exchanges.
Dive Insight:
As with virtually any new tax, controversy is already arising over the health insurer fee. Not-for-profit HMOs, for example, are already arguing that Congress intended for them to be exempt. But the ACA money has to come from somewhere, and so the Obama administration isn't likely to back down easily on this one.