Bush health insurance plan - Mary Poppins he ain't

[radfringe]

bush's health insurance proposal is a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down - except bush is not Mary Poppins and this isn't a disney movie

We have millions of WORKING people who do not have access to health insurance. The 2 most common reasons for no health insurance is:

1. Employer doesn't provide health insurance benefits
2. Employee can't afford to buy insurance on his/her own.

Employee contributions to company provided health insurance are currently sheltered from taxes. This means your contribution is deducted from your Gross Pay, and then your are taxed on the balance.

bush's proposal is to no longer shelter the contribution up front, but rather give you a "deduction" at the back end. For most of us it won't make much of a difference, we probably wouldn't even notice the switch.

So how does this effect people with NO INSURANCE? It doesn't effect them at all, it doesn't give them health insurance, it doesn't encourage employers to provide a health insurance benefit, and it doesn't provide money UP FRONT to pay for health insurance.

A HMO type plan averages $3,400 - $4,000 for SINGLE coverage ($280-$330 a month)- these numbers are based on group rates. There are very few companies that will provide individual coverage, and those policies are either very expensive or carry such high deductables to make them next to useless.

A person working at $5.15/hr (40hrs wk) grosses $206/week or $824 a month). How can they afford $280-$333 a month and still pay their regular bills and buy food? They can't, and a tax deduction at the end of the year doesn't pay the insurance premium this month.

What it comes down to is if you can't afford to "buy" the product in the first place, then a deduction at the end of the year doesn't help you today.

[livingonearth]

1. I've heard that those with employer provided insurance

will be taxed on their coverage. I was not aware of a "back end" deduction. Am I missing something?

[radfringe]

4. the "tax"

the tax comes in if your employer is paying more than $7,500 per year for health insurance ($7,500 single coverage - I think $15,000 for family coverage._

so let's say your employer pays out $8,000 a year for YOUR insurance, you get to deduct $7,500, and pay the tax on the remaining $500 as regular income.

bush is calling health insurance policies which are above those numbers as being "gold plated"

[Avalux]

2. I've heard this plan would hurt people in unions.

Those in unions who have negotiated good health insurance would suffer and actually lose money on the back end. I don't know the numbers involved, just something I heard on the radio yesterday. Certainly sounds right though; something proposed to help people coming from Bush always does the exact opposite, and this administration certainly is anti-union.

[madrchsod]

3. i think it`s the full coverage medical

that is paid 80-100% by the company. my son just got a job where it`s paid 100% so he`d fall under this "plan". most companies that are looking for quality workers are paying 80-100% of their workers insurance.it`s not just the unions that are being effected by this it`s the corporations that use medical insurance as a recruiting tool.
we all know that bush does`t care about health care because he has never faced being without it...my wife and i along with 48 million others know

[livingonearth]

5. I thought conservatives and republicans we against taxes!

Taxing something like health care just doesn't seem right. It's great for big government though: collect new tax from those with employer provided insurance; tax the income that will be used to buy insurance by those providing their own, and just give back part in a back end cut. What would Reagan have to say?

Surely I am missing something here. Even Bush wouldn't be this blatant at hurting the working taxpayers.

[mainegreen]

6. His 'plan' I suspect will reduce total # insured in rural states w/high premiums.

* has the IQ of a gopher. A dumb gopher.