Palin to Obama: Guess it’s easier to mock special needs kids than to level the playing field for them?

Posted on Governor Palin’s Facebook page this evening:

Sarah Palin · 3,556,327 like this

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about an hour ago ·

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We haven’t forgotten Obama’s mocking of the Special Olympics a few years ago on Leno’s show. And now we see how his signature legislation hurts parents of special needs children. I guess it’s easier to mock our kids than respect them and level the playing field for their productive lives, eh, Mr. President?

– Sarah Palin

She linked to this article by Patrick Howley at The Daily Caller:

Obamacare hurts parents of special-needs children

Posted By Patrick Howley On 9:27 PM 08/01/2013 In Politics | No Comments

President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” will make it more difficult for parents of special-needs children to pay for tuition at special schools and to purchase medical equipment, according to a new report.

More than 30 million Americans place money into a pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) through their employers to help save emergency funds to pay for their families’ medical costs. Obamacare institutes a brand new $2,500 cap for FSAs, which will make more money taxable and could raise $13 billion in taxes for the federal government over the next decade.

“Before Obamacare passed, there was no limit to how much money you could put into your FSA at work,” Ryan Ellis, tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform, told The Daily Caller. Ellis was inspired to perform research on the issue after hearing the complaints of a friend with a special-needs child.

“Most people don’t, but the one group that does put a lot of money into their FSAs is parents of kids with Down Syndrome, and parents of kids with physical disabilities,” Ellis said.

“Currently, if parents send their kids to a special school, the tuition is considered a qualified medical expense that can run through your FSA. If you have a kid who needs a durable piece of medical equipment that’s not covered by insurance, you can run that through your FSA,” Ellis said. “If FSAs had any limits before Obamacare, those were determined by the employer. The IRS had nothing to do with it.

“Obamacare creates a new $2,500 cap for FSAs,” Ellis continued. “That’s not going to affect most people, who just put in enough to pay for eyeglasses or dental work. But the one group that is being restricted is parents of special-needs children.”

Ellis said this technical change will add massive costs for parents.

“A big chunk of the tuition parents paid for special-needs schools used to be on a pre-tax basis. Now, they’re paying on an after-tax basis,” Ellis said.
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