Health Care Law Will Cost Nearly 80 Million Hours Annually
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Living in the age of trillion-dollar budget deficits and regulations costing hundreds of billions of dollars, it’s hard for big numbers to make an impression. However, here’s a number that really is jaw-dropping: Dealing with the rules in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will require nearly 80 million labor hours annually according to IRS estimates. This is on top of the 6.1 billion hours already spent dealing with our convoluted tax code.
Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey puts this into perspective:
The amount of man-hours needed each year for the regulation added by the [Patient Protection and] Affordable Care Act so far would be 398 times the total amount of man-hours our Space Shuttle program spent in space over its entire 30-year history.
Here’s the list:
| Regulation | Annual Burden in Labor Hours |
| 1545-0023 Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return | 4,366,381 |
| 1545-0047 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax Under Section 501(c), 527, or 4947(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code (except black lung benefit trust or private foundation) | 25,766,156 |
| 1545-0090 Form 1040-SS, U.S. Self-Employment Tax Return; Form 1040-PR, Planilla Para La Declaracion De La Contribucion Federal Sobre El Trabajo Por Cuenta Propia-Puerto Rico; and Anejo H-PR | 2,801,605 |
| 1545-0895 Form 3800, General Business Credit | 5,307,500 |
| 1545-2172 Affordable Care Act Enrollment Opportunity Notice Relating to Extended Dependent Coverage | 411,000 |
| 1545-2175 Form 8942 - Application for Certification of Qualified Investments Eligible for Credits; Notice 2010-XX - Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Credit | 14,545 |
| 1545-2177 Indoor Tanning Services; Cosmetic Services; Excise Tax | 10,000 |
| 1545-2178 Interim Final Rules for Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (TD XXXX) | 323,000 |
|
1545-2179 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Enrollment Opportunity Notice Relating to Lifetime Benefits
|
1,300 |
| 1545-2180 Affordable Care Act Notice of Rescission | 25 |
| 1545-2181 Affordable Care Act Notice of Patient Protections | 33,000 |
| 1545-2182 Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Disclosures | 150 |
| 1545-2192 Form 8947 - Report of Branded Prescription Drug Information | 3,584 |
| 1545-2198 Form 8941 - Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums | 40,189,456 |
| 1545-2209 Branded Prescription Drugs | 1,800 |
|
1545-2232 Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit
|
1 |
It’s no wonder that 72% of small business owners think the health care law will keep them from hiring more workers.
[H/T Paul Bedard]
