$5000.00 for Health Insurance
By ltmoon
@ltmoon (1008)
United States
April 29, 2008 3:14pm CST
$5000.00 for Health Insurance
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has proposed a new tax credit that would change how many people get their health insurance. McCain said Tuesday he would offer families a $5000.00 tax credit to help buy health insurance. The proposal would supposedly allow workers greater choice in their health coverage. Everyone would be eligible for the new tax credit. Taxpayers could claim the credit whether they continue their health insurance through an employer based plan or if they purchase their own policy. Tax credits are applied directly to the taxes owed and any excess credit would be a refund to the taxpayer. Employers would still be able to deduct expenses for the part of employee plans they contribute to.
Three major concerns arise from this announcement:
First, that employers might stop offering health plans to their employees.
Second, that a cessation of employer-based plans will force people with preexisting conditions out of coverage.
Thirdly, that offering such a credit will spark a rise in insurance premiums so that the insurance industry can capture the entire $5000.00/year from each taxpayer.
McCain's proposal is nebulous at this time, but he responds that concerns about preexisting conditions will be covered and safety-nets will ensure that all workers will be able to obtain health insurance within the proposed program. The McCain camp was less clear about how the program will safeguard against the cutting of employer plans and the potential for the insurance industry to abuse the tax credits of consumers.
Of course both Democratic candidates, who are promoting different forms of supposedly "universal" coverage that would have to be paid for with federal tax dollars (which means higher taxes!) and downplayed McCain's proposal.
Have you heard of this proposal?
What do you think about this health/tax plan?
Would such a health plan be beneficial for you and your family?
2 people like this
3 responses
@mehale (2200)
• United States
9 May 08
Ahhh, where to begin.... well, to start with about 2 1/2 years ago it would have cost my husband and I roughly $900 a month for us and two children for basic health insurance - not including dental or eye doctors. That came out to an estimate of $10,800 a year, so McCain's tax cut would not quite have covered half of the cost, and that was a couple of years ago. I am quite sure that the same plan would cost considerably more now.
Then there is the problems you mentioned. If this were to happen, insurance companies would indeed either find a way to raise the rates by at least the amount of the tax cut, or employers would start to stop offering coverage to employees and their families - or worse yet, both! Without some serious safety nets - that were much better detailed and explained - I would definitely say this would be a very bad thing for consumers and a very good one for insurance companies. And there is also the very real threat you mentioned about people with pre-existing conditions loosing their coverage and then being unable to get new insurance coverage. There has to be a better way!
All in all, just one more reason to keep McCain out of office....we have already had 8 years too many of the republicans, we need something different this time - not just the same old retoric (sp?) and more republican nonsense and tax cuts for the rich...what about the rest of the American population??
2 people like this
@anniepa (27955)
• United States
30 Apr 08
I don't think this plan even qualifies as a "band-aid", to be honest. Elizabeth Edwards said today on MSNBC that the average family health insurance plan costs about $12,000 per year and I think she must be pretty close because I just read an article from 2006 saying the average then was $11,480 and that was employer provided plans which are generally considerably less expensive than insurance we buy ourselves because of the group discount.
http://www.kff.org/insurance/ehbs092606nr.cfm
Therefore, my first problem with McCain's proposal is that $5000 isn't nearly enough. Also, what about those who don't owe any taxes, therefore wouldn't get a tax CREDIT but make too much to qualify for medical assistance but too little to be able to pay for their own insurance? That's pretty much the boat we're in right now. Then there's the fact that there likely will be some employers who will use this as a justification to stop providing insurance for their workers or to sharply increase the amount the employees must pay for themselves, something which is already happening without any incentive to do so. Then there's the problem with preexisting conditions - McCain had previously said his idea was to increase costs for the elderly and those with preexisting conditions to make it "fair" for the younger and healthier subscribers.
As for the Democrats' plans, no one has said they would be paid for by tax dollars but even if they would does it matter if we pay lower taxes and more for health care or higher taxes and less for health care if our "bottom line" remained the same and our access to the health care we need improved?
Annie
2 people like this
@whittby (3072)
• United States
29 Apr 08
Well, this is a little too, what was the word, nebulous for me even with his assurances. I'd want a plan that guaranteed health coverage, the preexisting conditions are one of the big problems to begin with getting coverage for them that doesn't make you wait a year to cover. Right now, with Cobra, I'm paying around $500 a month for our health and dental coverage continuation. That is just for me and a teenager. It doesn't cover all my premiums, but it would help.
2 people like this
