Bush: Tax breaks for health care ($7,500 for singles, $15k for famalies for owning health insurance)

[Herman Munster]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6359445,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will propose a tax deduction of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families regardless of whether they buy their own health insurance or receive medical coverage at work.

The proposal, to be announced Tuesday in his State of the Union address, is aimed at giving the uninsured an incentive to purchase a medical plan. It also is designed to encourage those with generous plans to either embrace cheaper insurance or pay taxes on the part that exceeds the deduction, a Bush administration official familiar with the proposals said Saturday.

If passed by Congress, the proposal would be the first time that workers could get a tax break if they bought their own insurance. But it also would be the first time that some employer-provided health care benefits could be taxed. Health care benefits provided by companies are currently exempt from income and payroll taxes.

In his nationally televised speech, Bush also will announce steps to take some federal money now going to hospitals and other facilities and give it to states for programs to reduce the number of uninsured people.

[benny05]

1. This is worthless to lower middle class and the working poor

Unless it is a tax credit. A deduction only helps if you have more to deduct than what's on 1040A.

[sandnsea]

7. Exactly right

Refundable tax credits are the only thing that will help the people who don't have insurance now. This is a gift to the wealthy and a phony smokescreen to everybody else.

[pitohui]

28. agreed

do they really think we're this stupid?

[jilln]

38. It's good for homeowners, isn't it?

They can generally itemize... and many middle class people are homeowners.

[Tess49]

47. It would help me. I'm certainly not wealthy. But I do own my own

home and have to pay for privately purchased health insurance. The current medical deduction (anything over 7.5 percent of gross income) is almost worthless. A tax credit would help everyone, though.

[kath]

2. Wow, how utterly fucked-up is that?!?!

SINGLE PAYER. NOW.

[Nickster]

3. How incredibly misguided. Why not propose this tax break strictly for Small Business

Owners? I guarantee most companies will value the health insurance they provide at over 7500. So why should I have to take a lesser health plan? I have no protection against premium increases, so my health coverage could potentially step down every year until I only have catastrophic coverage. This is yet another boondoggle for the insurance companies.

[Vincardog]

4. Note to aWoL we do not need insurance we need health care

Tax breaks are only good for people with taxable income.

[kath]

13. RIght - we don't need insurance, but HEALTH CARE. Get the damned bloodsucking

insurance companies out of the picture entirely, with a single payer health care system like every other developed nation has.

[Toucano]

36. Bingo! n/t

[aquart]

5. What a useless, moronic proposal.

We don't need incentives. We need single payer national health. We WANT insurance. We CAN'T afford it.

All this means is the insurance company has nothing to restrain its rates. And it can still cherrypick its customers.

[kimsterdemster]

27. Spot on!

You remind me of the congressman that argued on the house floor the other day when the republic's wanted to exempt employers who offer health care from having to raise the minimum wage for the employee's, I can't recall his name, he's from CA, but he was screaming "what part of being poor to you people not understand". He was stating that most cannot even afford the deductible, much less the premium, he made me proud to be a Democrat and a member of the Democratic Party.

O8) People should not die just because they are poor :cry:

:applause: aquart and I belive it was Rep. George Miller, CA

http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/:woohoo:

[originalpckelly]

6. Now let me get this right:

This dumb fuck is about to tax health care as income for the first time so that he can look good by creating a tax break for it?

[MzNov]

25. YES ! and take a wild guess who will benefit from this "brilliant" plan.

IT JUST NEVER STOPS, does it????

[Vinca]

8. Dear Georgie,

Please send me the 15 grand so I will be able to buy the insurance and take the deduction. Otherwise, since I don't have that kind of cash laying around my modest abode, I'm SOL. Look to Canada, monkey boy, CANADA!:mad:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. YAWN!

As a self-employed person, I can already deduct the cost of my health insurance. It's small comfort when it comes time to pay the whopping monthly premiums.

[sanskritwarrior]

10. Ok

I'm in the military so I have Tricare......My sister and her Husband make 80,000 a year and pay roughly 250 a month for Aetna.......What does this mean for them.......

[Rosemary2205]

11. Encourage people to to take LESS insurance coverage? - UNION BUSTING

I hope Pelosi kicks him to the curb.

[Canadiana]

12. This seems so complicated

Here's an idea for you, America, why don't you just provide universal health care like all the other developped countires in the world? You see here in Canada, its all FREE. Free, free, free. Health care is not a product, its a right. I believe this to be the US's absolute most important long term issue but people are so complacent to not having universal health care. It's insane to me. This little tax break solves nothing.

[sanskritwarrior]

14. Isn't

there a waiting list to get into natal care hospitals? I thought I read there was a 10 month waiting list out in alberta and BC for a bed for pregnant women? With pregnancy being 9 months that would present a problem........

[Canadiana]

16. I'm not sure about BC

But that is definitely not the case here in ontario. Yes, there are problems that come with a free health care, but its nothing compared to the problems that come with 40 million people with zero coverage. Just 2 recent examples: my elderly neighbour fell and broke her hip, and within a week she had surgery. For free. My best friend got extremely ill on the weekend, she walked into a handy dandy after-hours clinic here, flashed her health card, and got a perscription that day. The appointment was free. It's a society where one does not even have to think about the cost of seeing their doctor or A doctor, and I think even with its flaws it's pretty good.

[Gormy Cuss]

19. There are so many rumors in the states about the 'bad' health care system in Canada.

Every single one that I've heard and investigated was either a flat out fabrication or an attempt to hold up a limitation in their system, usually on the topic of waiting time for non-urgent care, as somehow horrid compared to the U.S. but the claim ignores that our own privately insured plans have the same or greater waits and denials for the same care unless you have the money to direct pay.

[blonndee]

41. Every Canuck I've talked to is quite happy with the state

of health care there. Anecdotal, but still.

[alarimer]

22. Presumably those are right-wing talking points

Trying to scare people out of "Canadian-style" health care.

[prolesunited]

32. Been reading too much RW propaganda lately?

Or are you just here to spread it?

[sanskritwarrior]

48. WTF??

These aren't rightwing anything. America's system is frakked up. Apparently Canada's system has warts as well. Is it now rightwing to ask questions about things I read in Canadian newpapers? I acknowledge ignorance of which Canadian papers have what political leanings, so I posted a couple of links........damn man, I'm not RW anything, but I do ask questions about totems in society and I wont stop doing that.....

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2005/11/10/midwives051110.html

http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2007/01/17/3393903-sun.html

[sandnsea]

39. So apply common sense

If there's a ten month waiting list and it takes nine months to have a baby, well nobody would be on the waiting list, would they?

Do you seriously believe people would rave about a health care system that couldn't even deliver prenatal care???

Good grief.

[Cleita]

37. Most of us want that. Polls that are untampered by the RW

show that 70% of Americans want health care just like yours, but the industry is an ugly, giant dragon that no one has been able to slay yet.

[blonndee]

40. Most Americans want this, and badly.

Polls show this, and my personal experience convinces me of this. Even my conservative parents agree that this would be better for the country. (My dad takes issue with my claim that health care is a right, but still agrees w/me practically.)

I think it will come about. Maybe sooner than I thought, if recent events are any indicator. If so, it's LONG overdue.

[salin]

15. the flawed assumption this is based on = high health care costs

are CAUSED by consumers using TOO much healthcare. :eyes:

[prolesunited]

33. Yes, they are

the poor people are wasting it by not just dying and leaving more money and room for the wealthier, more suitable members of society.

[Hand]

17. Dead. On. Arrival.

Probably won't even be taken up by the relevant committees if it ever becomes a formal bill; why would sensible legislators waste time on this BS? And for a change, we have a few of those in charge. :toast:

[WinkyDink]

18. So, more $$ for "his base".

[Disturbed]

20. Everything Busholini does is for his base.

They are the only ones left that support this Silver-spoon Sociopath.

[sam sarrha]

21. just blowing smoke.. for votes

[cynatnite]

23. Wow! Sounds great!

Well, for us if it were to pass. Not that I think it will. But how does it give those incentive if they can't afford to get insurance in the first place?

Our insurance runs about 9K a year and has all the bells and whistles. Maybe we ought to get more in order to get a bigger tax break.

But a simpler option is to take all the money from the tax breaks and use it to finance a plan that covers everyone that doesn't have insurance rather than just give us another way to get more money from the govt.

Maybe I'm just looking at this all wrong. :shrug:

[MzNov]

26. think! you might get a "tax break" but this will allow the pigs at the troughs

to double or triple the costs of your brand new more privatized health insurance.

[cynatnite]

29. Good point...I hadn't thought of that

I still don't think this will get far. Thankfully, we've got a dem congress to make sure it doesn't.

[MzNov]

30. Yep, I actually think we'll be OK

room for optimism here! Finally! :0

[qanda]

44. Or how about people who are refused insurance

Because of pre-existing conditions?

[MzNov]

24. Beware. We haven't seen how much we will be taxed first

on insurance that is provided by our employer !!!! You should always beware of any bush schemes !!!

This smells ! and blows! and will not at all offer any cures for the massive health care fat cat fraud in this country today, bush's corporate cronies.

do not be fooled by the Fool in Chief. Fight this new Bush privatization trick as hard as you can!

:mad:

[roamer65]

45. You got it, Ms November.

My guess is the tax would really screw the middle class who do have benefits. Not only would we be struggling to pay higher deductibles, we would also lose the income to pay them. This thing sounds like another Bush scheme to screw the poor and middle class.

[Cleita]

31. My income is so low, I don't pay taxes, but yet my health insurance

has risen to over $200 a month. This is worthless to me and many others like me who have to purchase their own insurance but don't make enough to pay taxes to cover those credits.

This is another tax refund to the well off.

[prolesunited]

34. And it would PENALIZE those

lucky enough to land a job with a really good benefits package.

[Cleita]

35. Here's an article about Arnold's plan, which is similar and

which this California nurse says is BS.

Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Association

[cynatnite]

42. Link? n/t

[Cleita]

43. Here,

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070119/news_lz1e19burger.html

Sorry about that. :blush:

[MasterDarkNinja]

46. ?!? encourage people to embrace a cheaper insurance plan, WHAT ?!?

My family already pays enough money for medication and doctor visits even with health insurance provided by my dad's employer, and now his company is going to get encouragement to get a cheaper health insurance policy for tax reasons?

Thanks a lot for encouraging Big Businesses to give my family worse health care then we already have Commander in chimp.