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Synikul · **Health care, again -** 01-20-07

Quote:

Bush unveils new plan on health care

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush unveiled a plan on Saturday to use tax-code changes to encourage more Americans to buy health insurance as he previewed an initiative for his State of the Union address.

Weighing in on the debate about how to provide health-care coverage to the more than 46 million Americans who lack it, Bush said his approach would emphasize private health insurance coverage rather than expand government-provided programs, as some Democrats advocate.

Health care is emerging in opinion polls as a top concern among many Americans as the costs of private insurance soar, putting a burden on both workers and companies.

"Our challenge is clear," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "We must address these rising costs, so that more Americans can afford basic health insurance. And we need to do it without creating a new federal entitlement program or raising taxes."

The president, who delivers his State of the Union address on Tuesday, is eager to avoid having his domestic agenda overshadowed by discontent over the Iraq war.

Bush's health-care proposal would use tax breaks to make it easier for people who do not have employer-provided health insurance to buy coverage on their own. The tax incentives would be similar to deductions used by homeowners for the interest on their mortgages, Bush said.

But the program is intended to have no effect on government revenues because the cost of the tax breaks would be offset by changing the way health insurance is treated in the tax code, according to a senior administration official who described the proposal to reporters.

The current health system relies primarily on employers to provide health-care coverage as a fringe benefit. Employees are not taxed on the benefits but the Bush plan would set a cap on the amount of coverage that could be offered tax-free.

Anything above that would be taxed as income, the administration official on condition of anonymity.

TAX DEDUCTIONS

While some people would get hit with higher taxes as a result, there would be a windfall for those who opted for low-cost plans because they be given tax deductions up to a certain limit, even if their insurance cost less than that.

Bush said the tax code unfairly penalized people who want to buy health insurance on their own while offering incentives for people to use expensive, "gold-plated" coverage.

Bush's builds on other initiatives he has pushed, including the expansion of health savings accounts that allow people to save tax-free for routine health-care expenses, while relying on low-cost insurance for catastrophic illnesses.

Democrats have criticized some of Bush's past health initiatives, saying they risk eroding employer-based health coverage. They might raise similar concerns about the new proposal. Some labor unions also might be concerned about a weakening of job-based health insurance.

Bush's health-care push comes as a number of states have been trying out their own proposals to extend coverage to the uninsured. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, recently launched such a plan. Massachusetts last year enacted a law requiring all adults to have health insurance.

Nationally, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record) has offered a universal health-care proposal and Democratic 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards is making health care a top campaign theme.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070120/...ealthcare_dc_2

If I understand this correctly, Bush wants to tax my employer and I to offset the revenue loss of giving a tax cut to the self-employed for health insurance. If so, this is a typical liberal "rob Peter to pay Paul" scheme dressed up in right wing rhetoric. Why does anyone think this fucker is a conservative?

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