Bush: Tax breaks for health care ($7,500 for singles, $15k for famalies for owning health insurance)

[Herman Munster]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6359445,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will propose a tax deduction of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families regardless of whether they buy their own health insurance or receive medical coverage at work.

The proposal, to be announced Tuesday in his State of the Union address, is aimed at giving the uninsured an incentive to purchase a medical plan. It also is designed to encourage those with generous plans to either embrace cheaper insurance or pay taxes on the part that exceeds the deduction, a Bush administration official familiar with the proposals said Saturday.

If passed by Congress, the proposal would be the first time that workers could get a tax break if they bought their own insurance. But it also would be the first time that some employer-provided health care benefits could be taxed. Health care benefits provided by companies are currently exempt from income and payroll taxes.

In his nationally televised speech, Bush also will announce steps to take some federal money now going to hospitals and other facilities and give it to states for programs to reduce the number of uninsured people.