McCain seeks tax credit to help buy health insurance
"So, a little more detail, but remember, it is April, and the election's in November, so not everything will happen tomorrow or this week," McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin told reporters Monday.
Also Tuesday, his campaign began airing a health care commercial in Iowa, where McCain plans to hold a town hall-style meeting Thursday in Des Moines. In it, McCain makes the case for his market-oriented plan.
Under McCain's plan, anyone could get the credit, and those who like their company health care plans could choose to stay in them. The credit would be available as a rebate to people at lower income levels who have no tax liability, Holtz-Eakin said.
To pay for the tax credit, McCain would eliminate the tax exemption for people whose employers pay a portion of their coverage, raising an estimated $3.6 trillion in revenues, Holtz-Eakin said. Companies that provide coverage to workers still would get tax breaks. McCain would also cut costs by limiting health care lawsuits.
The goal is to move the health care industry away from job-based coverage toward competition among health insurance companies on the open market.
Critics of McCain's approach say it could leave sicker or older people without coverage as younger, healthier workers leave employer-based plans for cheaper ones; McCain's campaign says there would be a safety net to protect high-risk people.
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Member Comments
Posted By: Thevail @ 04/30/2008 4:02:38 PM
Comment: sorry, jeez I wish they'd fix that bug.
Posted By: Thevail @ 04/30/2008 4:01:07 PM
Comment: This just won't work for the vast majority of Americans. I mean, it's not evil, just really really dumb.
A) it leaves out people who don't pay $5000.00 in taxes..too bad for everyone who makes under $50,000 per year.
B) It does nothing to address the issue of being denied coverage because of pre-existing condition. Born with diabetes or a heart murmur..too bad for you.
C.) It actually decreases competition on pricing for insurance. A company with 5,000 employees has a much better shot at negotiating a fair price for health insurance than an individual does. That's one of the main reasons that providing health insurance is so expensive for small companies now.And just ask a self employed person how much they have to pay for an individual plan. My parents pay for theirs and it's mind boggling.
Posted By: Thevail @ 04/30/2008 4:00:33 PM
Comment: This just won't work for the vast majority of Americans. I mean, it's not evil, just really really dumb.
A) it leaves out people who don't pay $5000.00 in taxes..too bad for everyone who makes under $50,000 per year.
B) It does nothing to address the issue of being denied coverage because of pre-existing condition. Born with diabetes or a heart murmur..too bad for you.
C.) It actually decreases competition on pricing for insurance. A company with 5,000 employees has a much better shot at negotiating a fair price for health insurance than an individual does. That's one of the main reasons that providing health insurance is so expensive for small companies now.And just ask a self employed person how much they have to pay for an individual plan. My parents pay for theirs and it's mind boggling.