Is This A Dumb Idea For Health Care Finance?

[Wizard777]

Obama may be ready to compromise his promise not to tax health care benefits. Why should they tax people for achieving the common goal of having health care? Here in Maryland we recently found out that we cannot require large employers like Walmart to provide their employees with health care. So instead of taxing people who get health care from their employers. Why not tax business that refuse to provide their employees with health care? Create a health care tax upon all businesses. Businesses that provide universal health care coverage for every employee get an exemption. Then there is a sliding scale of tax credits for the coverage you do provide. We could also create a small business exemption for businesses with less than X amount of employees. Sure the government has a vested interest in the health of the people. But it's business that receive the direct benefits of healthy employees. Why not tax the businesses that don't want to benefits of healthy employees that they are receiving. It just seems to me that they're looking at this bassackwards.

[KT2000]

1. Not dumb but

we will need a broader pool - like all of us.
Tying health insurance to employers is part of the problem.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Agreed.

[Wizard777]

8. Everybody into the pool would be socialized medicine.

The pool just doesn't get any bigger than that.

[FiveGoodMen]

9. Bring it on.

[Wizard777]

10. I agree. I don't see a problem with raising the minimum standard of living in America.

[Cleita]

3. I think a corporate tax would be effective.

Also, we could do a p/r tax. Right now Social Security takes a 15% payroll tax for SS and Medicare. The employee pays half and the employer pays half. They could add another 10% and split it in half. It would actually be a lot cheaper to do this than buy health insurance. The govt then could issue all employees a Medicare card. Of course Medicare would have to be made more comprehensive and updated. Right now it requires a 20% co-pay which in this day and age would be unaffordable for a Wal-Mart employee. The P/R tax is regressive but would probably be easier to pass a bill in Congress for it than a corporate tax. Or, they could lift the cap and tax all income at the 15% rate and from what I have read, the number crunchers say it would be enough to cover everyone, even the unemployed and disabled.

[RC]

4. Businesses, unless they are hospitals or clinics, should not be providing health care.

That said, the major problem is that private business is in the health insurance business for the money. Single payer, government run health insurance. Otherwise we will never be rid of the profit mongers.
Taxing health coverage is like taxing Social Security. It just reduces the benefits by that much and is an all around dumb idea.

[Cleita]

5. They should be paying something into it because they benefit from a

healthy work force. Maybe they shouldn't be shouldering the whole burden though.

[doc03]

6. Sounds like a great idea but it will never fly,

same as taxing peoples benefits, that idea is DOA.

[Massacure]

7. The bill in the House of Representatives right now looks decent.

I remember reading quite a few details about it, I'll tell you what I do remember.



Current health status could not be used as a qualification for coverage.
Insurance companies could not deny care for preexisting conditions.
Insurance companies would not be able to charge higher prices based on health condition.
Older people could be charged more than younger ones, but only up to twice as much more.
They would have a list of things that they would be forced to treat.

Employers would be forced to either:
- Offer an insurance plan that meets the above requirements.
- Pay an amount equal to 6% of an employees earnings into a pot of money for health care.

Americans would be forced to obtain health insurance. It would be subsidized on a sliding scale up to either 300% or 400% of the poverty line, I forget which.
Americans who refuse coverage would have to pay 2% of their income into the general health care fund.



There is a good chance the Senate might nuke whatever comes out of the House though.