We're starting to see surcharges on our medical bills to pay for Obamacare

Letter to the Editor,

Beware of the surcharge.

We are into the second month of the new year, and people are already receiving medical bills with surcharges included in them. 

Parts of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have started to kick into action. One of the biggest parts is a surcharge on medical devices. 

Anyone who has had a knee replacement or a hip replacement done can expect to see a surcharge included in the bill. A device costing $10,000 will see a charge of almost $210 or more. That does not include costs for any other devices used by the hospital when doing the procedure. 

This charge will be almost 2-1/2 percent added tax on the device used. Future bills also will see this surcharge hitting where patients had procedures requiring everything from rods and pins in bones to the surgical instruments and devices used in the hospitals. 

Dental devices also are going to feel the impact. Most people thought that Obamacare would simply require one to have medical insurance, but we are now seeing just how far-reaching the law actually is. 

This surcharge was designed by the Obama Administration to help pay for medical insurance for those who do not have it now. 

One has to wonder what new and added costs to the patient and public in general will be coming into view through the rest of 2013.

— Bill Cunnane

Libby