Neutralizing The Impact of McCain’s Health Credits
Neutralizing The Impact of McCain’s Health Credits
The Wonk Room has long argued that Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) plan to eliminate the current employer tax exemption for health benefits and provide all Americans with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) would lead some employers to drop health coverage. On Monday, at an event at the American Network of Community Options and Resources, an employer re-framed the argument:
Q: My question around McCain plan is simply this: What would prevent employers from increasing their employee contribution by $2500 and neutralizing the impact to people that apparently it is designed to help?
Jennifer Tolbert, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: Right. There is actually nothing in there that would prevent that. And in fact, I think, one of the potential downsides of the McCain plan is that it actually could, might, lead some employers to drop coverage all together.
Watch it:
An analysis of McCain’s health care proposal by the Tax Policy Center estimates that by 2013, 16 million people would lose the health benefits they receive from their employers and projects that 55 million Americans will be uninsured.
One Response to “Neutralizing The Impact of McCain’s Health Credits”
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Employers have been shifting the risk to employees for nearly two decades. It started with higher deductibles and copays, then grew to premium sharing.
Bush greased the skids with high deductible health plans and the etherial health savings account. That’s but an interim step.
Employers are ready to dump the whole thing “in order to compete in a global economy”. McCain’s plan paves the way. So does the Wyden Plan, offered by Ron Wyden D-OR.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:41 am