First Health Care Tax: Racist!

The only feature of health care reform that kicks in today? A tax, on tanning salons:

Indoor tanning salons will charge customers a 10 percent tax beginning today in just one of the changes Americans will see as a result of the U.S. health-care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama....

And who uses tanning salons? White people, by a huge margin. Post-racial president? Or Al Sharpton sans the gold chains?

Can you imagine if any previous administration had implemented a tax levied on service strictly used by black people? Oh, the left would be howling...but emptying whitey's pockets? Nothin' but crickets...

Actually, there is one other group of people - likely of all races - that uses tanning salons. Those are people afflicted with eczema, a common and painful skin condition

The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include dryness and recurring skin rashes that are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema (swelling), itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration may appear and are sometimes due to healed lesions.

The best treatment for eczema is small, consistent doses of ultraviolet radiation - ie a tanning bed. Most dermatologists will keep one in their office, and charge you a hefty fee for its use, which is covered by most insurance plans. However, the copay can range between $10-$25, depending on your plan. To compete with this, most tanning salons offer "eczema packages", which average out (in my area) in the $10-range per visit. So one can actually save serious money (since treatment may need to be consistent) avoiding insurance and working with the non-medical private sector.

But that will likely disappear, as tanning salons are taxed out of business, or are forced to raise their rates via the tax to equal or above rates charged by insurance companies. So this medical treatment will now cost even more money under Obamacare, limit patient's options, increase wait times for treatment, and force insurance rates higher as they now need to cover more people with this condition who would have ordinarily paid for it themselves.

But since the government now owns the health-care industry...maybe they know all this already?

Still, take note, Barack: Racism - like taxes - never pays...