Bush health insurance plan is unhealthy for all Americans

Written by: catherine wolf on Mar 2, 2007 5:01 PM EST

Linked to groups: Fair Share For Health Care Initiative

I have Lou Gehrig’s disease. I have concluded Bush’s health insurance plan is unhealthy for me and the American people. I am a quadriplegic and ventilator dependent. Although I have Medicare, it is not sufficient for my extensive needs. I urge Congress to reject Bush’s plan. I will address the part of the plan that gives individual and family health insurance tax deductions of $7,500 and $15,000, respectively.

 

Employer related health insurance has dropped from 63.6% in 2000 to 59.5% in 2005, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). This trend will be exacerbated if employers choose to eliminate health insurance plans because their employees will have a tax deduction to buy health insurance on their own. I am insured as a dependent under my husband's employer's health plan. If his and other employers terminate their health insurance, where will I and others with serious illnesses get health insurance in the free market? Under the Bush plan, insurance in excess of $15,000 for a family would be taxable income. The administration estimates that 80% would see their taxes drop and 20% would see their taxes increase. But that assumes the status quo. Those employers that don't terminate their health insurance plans would almost certainly shift more of the cost to their employees. Thus, many middle and low income employees who have employer insurance would be taxed on the excess. Employer related insurance, which covers the majority of Americans, is far from perfect. The president's plan would have dangerous and unpredictable effects on employer related health insurance.

 

More importantly, the president's plan would do little to reduce the ranks of the uninsured. The government estimates that three to five million of the nearly 47 million uninsured would be insured under the Bush plan. Consider the case of a single mother with three children. She would need a taxable income of $78,550 and a pre-tax income of $91,750 to take full advantage of the Bush health insurance deduction using the 2006 tax tables. This puts her in the highest quintile of family income for 2004, according to the EPI. Minimum wage earners with families, working forty hours a week at the proposed new minimum wage of $7.25/hour, would get no tax benefit. My guess is that the primary beneficiaries of the proposed health insurance plan would be highly paid healthy young people with flexible benefits who currently opt out of employer health plans and choose a cash payment in lieu of insurance. Under the president's plan, this group would have a tax incentive to take employer health insurance or buy a private policy. Is this the group who we want to help?

 

Bush's plan does little to help the uninsured and jeopardizes employer related health insurance.

 

Catherine G. Wolf, PhD  

Message From Steve Perez, Working Families Party Internet Organizer

Written by: Larry Dudley on May 12, 2006 9:47 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Fair Share For Health Care Initiative

Hi,

The Times Union just called the Fair Share for Health Care Act the "next big thing" in the state capital, so put the next big step for the bill on your calendar: The State Assembly will hold a hearing on the Fair Share for Health Care Act two weeks from now on May 23rd. This is a critical chance for us to join together to show how broad support for the bill is.

Please take a moment to sign on to our testimony in support of the bill and add your own testimony on the importance of guaranteed, quality health care. Then ask your family and friends to support the bill by forwarding this email to them.

To take action, click here -
www.workingfamiliesparty.org/fai...

You probably know the rap. The Fair Share for Health Care Act will ensure that large employers provide decent, affordable benefits to their workers. That means employees of firms like Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut, and even big buildings like the Empire State Plaza, will have to do what most responsible local employers do - provide health care to their cashiers, waiters and security guards.

Four hundred fifty thousand New Yorkers from working families will get health care if the bill passes, and
Taxpayers will save $1 billion because another 200,000 New Yorkers employed by these corporate freeloaders will move from Medicaid to employer-sponsored health care.
The Assembly hearing on the Fair Share for Health Care Act is our chance to make our case for the bill before state legislators. Hundreds of us will be at the hearing and the media will be watching, but our opponents will also be out in force.

When you sign on to our testimony you can also say why you support the bill and see what other people are saying. Then, we'll take what everyone says with us on the 23rd to the state capital.

In preparation for the hearing, we've also posted a new overview of the bill and a series ofregional reports showing the benefits of the Fair Share for Health Care Act.

To take action, click here -
www.workingfamiliesparty.org/fai...

Sincerely,

Steve Perez
Working Families Party Internet Organizer
sperez@workingfamiliesparty.org
workingfamiliesparty.org/...
wfpjournal.blogspot.com/...

p.s. Next week we'll send out details about how you can join other supporters and sign up for a bus ride to the capital to fill the hearing room and support the bill.