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Title: Democrats may tax health benefits
Source:
Boston.com
URL Source: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a ... crats_may_tax_health_benefits/
Published: Dec 1, 2008
Author: Lisa Wangsness
Post Date: 2008-12-01 23:51:42 by bush_is_a_moonie
Keywords: None
Views: 182
Comments: 9
In the last month of the presidential campaign, it was one of Barack Obama and Joe Biden's strongest attack lines: John McCain, they warned, would "tax your healthcare benefits for the first time ever." But now, some Congressional Democrats in charge of health reform are talking about doing just that. They would not go as far as McCain, who wanted to end the tax exclusion entirely for employer-sponsored insurance, which excludes money spent by employees and their employers on health benefits from income and payroll taxes. But some key Democrats are talking about limiting the benefit for workers, so that those with higher incomes or more generous health benefits might pay taxes on some portion of the income they use to pay for their health premiums. The issue is just one in an unfolding discussion of how to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, a goal Obama has said will be an urgent priority when he takes office Jan. 20. The political climate appears right for dramatic changes that could affect millions of families, and interest groups are moving fast to position themselves. McCain wanted to get rid of the employer tax exclusion and in its place give people tax credits they could use to buy their own health insurance independent of their employers. Democrats have a very different approach to health reform, but some of them also want to limit the exclusion - not least because the benefit costs the government more than $300 billion a year in potential tax revenues, so it is one of the few large pools of cash available to help fund a major health reform package at a time when money is scarce. Senator Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, recently issued an 89-page health policy paper that many see as an important Democratic blueprint for health reform. His paper raises the possibility of capping tax breaks for health insurance premiums based on income, value of health benefits, or both. Baucus said Obama's and Biden's relentless campaign rhetoric against McCain for being willing to "tax insurance" did not mean the benefit was off-limits in the reform process. "We're not going to eliminate the exclusion, but we're certainly going to discuss it," said Baucus. "The campaign is over. Barack Obama is our president; we have a majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate. But the goal is to work together. I think we're going to have to use some of Senator McCain's suggestions in order to get an agreed-upon result." But Democrats could face serious political challenges if they try to scale back the benefit. Unions that are deeply invested in the employer-based system are wary of any changes since employers provide insurance to the vast majority of their members. Business groups are also extremely cautious. And after Obama and Biden so clearly campaigned against "taxing healthcare," Democrats could leave themselves vulnerable to accusations of hypocrisy. "Once the issue was delineated in the campaign, it's hard to go back because people will remind you that the standard-bearer of the party took a position on this issue," said Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. "That's one of the things that has to be taken into consideration," said Senator Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. There are a number of arguments for limiting the exclusion, as Baucus noted in his proposal. Some economists believe it encourages people to use too much healthcare because it lets them buy an unlimited amount of healthcare tax-free. The exclusion is also regressive because it gives bigger breaks to those in higher tax brackets - which means those who can afford the best healthcare get the largest tax benefit, rather than those who need government's help the most. A 2004 study found that tax breaks on health benefits averaged $2,780 for families with incomes of $100,000 or more, but $102 for those with $10,000 or less, wrote Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of political science and health policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in a recent article in Health Affairs. Limiting the amount of healthcare premiums that can be excluded from taxable income to $4,000 for individuals and $11,000 for families would generate $1 trillion over the next decade, Oberlander wrote, citing a 2007 report by the Congressional Budget Office. That's roughly the cost of the health reform plan Obama put out in the campaign, according to a recent assessment by PricewaterhouseCoopers. But even a cap of that size would mean that many middle-class people would suddenly have to pay taxes on some of the income they now use to pay health premiums - the average cost of employer-based health benefits is about $4,700 for single coverage and nearly $12,700 for family plans. "The problem is a political one," said Oberlander. "What middle-class Americans think about when they think about health reform is not a proposal to tax their health insurance. It's just a difficult sell." Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit that represents the perspective of large employers on healthcare issues, said her members would oppose any dramatic changes in the tax treatment of employer-sponsored insurance. "If you were starting from scratch 40 years ago, a cap wouldn't have been a bad idea, but we have a system already in place," she said. "A very significant number of people in the country will have their benefits taxed at the very time they can't afford another financial hit." She also noted that a cap would hit Boston-area residents particularly hard since the cost of healthcare is much higher in Massachusetts than it is in most of the rest of the country. Yet competing political pressures make the idea difficult to dismiss. There is an unprecedented demand for a major health reform package among business groups, health insurers, unions, and liberal advocacy groups, and Obama has promised to deliver one. The escalating deficit and the recession will make it hard to afford. And a growing number of moderate Democrats in Congress whose support will be needed to pass a plan will be reluctant to support expensive new benefits without a funding source.
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#1. To: All (#0)
Tax This!!!!
And so it goes; the lesser of two evils attains power only to further drive the nation to the point of collapse. I hope this new tax hurts some Os, preferably those who can least afford it. Only through personal pain will they understand that all politicians lie and none are put on the planet to be our saviour.
They can't tax that, so they throw you in jail for it instead now.
Why would you hope a tax hurts somebody? How about a tax that hurts nobody? Does such a tax exist? I don't know but then again you would have to define "hurt".
They can come an give it their best shot. I have defied authority since the day I was born so it wouldn't be anything new. After I got back from Nam I had 30 days leave coming but the XO who I did not get along very well with insisted that I report to my next duty station (T.I.) before I put in a chit for the leave. I told him I was taking it now and asked him to approve the it. He refused. I figured I deserved some R&R NOW so I went home for 30 days and then went back. They tossed me in the brig and initial assigned a special court martial for U/A. I did my own legal research/representation and got it reduced to a summary court martial which was just before one officer. I convinced that officer that because I had just gotten back from Nam in the past 2 months I was exhausted and when the XO refused my leave I told him I was crushed, that he had destroyed what little self confidence I had been able to develop/build up since entering the service and that in my mind I was justified in taking the 30 days to keep myself from a total emotional collapse. He found me not guilty. The XO was pissed. He ripped my ass telling me that nobody beats a charge of U/A "in this man's navy". I just smiled and said there was always a first time for everything. He was really pissed when he got the paperwork and learned that not only did I get paid for those 30 days, it didn't count against my leave since it had not been approved as leave time. I got paid for the 30 days plus still had 30 days leave coming. He asked me when I got out of the navy and if I couldn't make it in the real world (whatever that is) what I would do then. I smiled and said I would probably re-enlist and hopefully would back on the SD Naval Station under his command. I probably could have brought a charge of assault against him when he threw a baseball he had on his desk in a stand at me but I figured I already embarassed him enough. Authority? Doesn't sit well with me.
Hurt, as in tax people so much that it causes them pain. Pain, as in lose their homes and families. Without pain, the sheeple will never know their enemy is government, specifically big government. I noticed Arnold mentioned Medical was killing his budget. Well, unless the dopey taxpayers demand that illegals be stricken from the roles, as a start, they deserve whatever pain is coming. So that's my answer moonie. Tax the asshats until they bleed. Let California go belly up and laugh while all the big government voters stare blankly toward Washington waiting for a TAXPAYER bailout.
I'm still waiting for my free gas and mortgage payments.
Ms Peggy Joseph. She Know!
Bless her heart. I hope that she's not holding her breath on this one.
#2. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#1)
#3. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#1)
Tax This!!!!
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#4. To: Jethro Tull (#2)
#5. To: Esso (#3)
#6. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#4)
Why would you hope a tax hurts somebody?
#7. To: Jethro Tull. all (#6)
Tax the asshats until they bleed. Let California go belly up and laugh while all the big government voters stare blankly toward Washington waiting for a TAXPAYER bailout.
#8. To: lodwick (#7)
(Edited)
#9. To: Jethro Tull (#8)
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