The Atlasia Dispatch-Herald News Unit

[Marokai Backbeat]

Was there some sort of culling of Pacific citizens I missed?

[Marokai Backbeat]

National News

Atlasian National Healthcare Act Goes Into Effect
The following are the relevant statistics for the Atlasian National Healthcare Act as passed by the Senate:

Current number of uninsured Atlasians =  40 million
Projected # uninsured under Act = 25 million
Projected # to join ANHCP = 285 million

Projected 10 year cost of Act = $3.4 trillion
Projected 10 year revenue from Act = $3.45 trillion

Analysis
With an available universal program under the Act, this office projects that 25 million currently uninsured Atlasians will receive health insurance coverage with the passage of this Act. Without individual mandates or subsidies to cover premiums for the poor, few poor Atlasians will join the new government program, despite the absence of co-payments and deductibles. With no mandate and new taxes on benefits, those wealthy Atlasians who had refrained from purchasing an insurance plan now have a disincentive from buying in, while middle and upper-middle class Atlasians are somewhat more likely to drop their insurance plan.

Taxes on benefits with the absence of any mandates are likely to result in many employers dropping coverage. Some smaller insurance companies will also be forced to downsize or close due to new requirements to cover those with previous medical conditions and rules preventing them from providing certain basic services. This office projects a loss of $50 million to $250 million in economic activity in this area over ten years.

However, because businesses will no longer be burdened with providing health insurance coverage, projected wages over the next ten years are substantially higher, especially for those who make between $60,000 and $125,000 annually. In addition, the lightened load on businesses, especially smaller ones, will increase economic activity by approximately $700 million over five years.

While most people will proceed to purchase insurance through the exchange, most relying on the universal ANHCP, an estimated 10 million will refrain from buying new insurance. This nets approximately 15 million additional Atlasians with health coverage.

While the cost of the Act and projected number to join government run health care programs seem high, these numbers include the people and funding transferred from Medicare and Medicaid. It also includes those who previously had private insurance, but were transferred to coverage under the government program. Without those numbers, the cost is closer to $1.4 trillion and revenue equivalent to $1.45 trillion over ten years.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Oh good Lord..

[Marokai Backbeat]

Anything to get people moving I suppose.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Regional News

Mideast Return Of Rhetoric Bill Analysis
The Mideast region has proposed to increase the gasoline tax by 2% to pay for materials used to support the teaching of debate and speech in public schools.

The following is a brief report on the Return of Rhetoric Bill to determine the impact of such a tax:

An increase in the gasoline tax by 2% would result in a 0.904 cent/gallon increase in the price of gas, yielding approximately $12.8 billion per year. The true yield over time is likely to decrease as demand for oil is projected to continue to fall. Taxation will contribute to this downward trend, precipitating the continued decline of gasoline consumption. Over a ten year projection, the 2% increase is likely to raise $81.6 billion, an average of $8.16 billion per year.

You mean modest gas taxes aren't the end of the world?

Well, whatever you do, don't tell the Northeast Region!