Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

March 15, 2009 By Fausta

Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits

15health_subgraph

Administration Is Open to Taxing Health Benefits

The Obama administration is signaling to Congress that the president could support taxing some employee health benefits, as several influential lawmakers and many economists favor, to help pay for overhauling the health care system.

Just a few minutes ago I was reading Mark Steyn, who said

General Motors has 96,000 employees but provides health benefits to over a million people.

I wonder how those folks are going to like their tax increase?

Would Medicare be taxed, too?

Would the tax be on premiums paid, or on services received? Imagine you have employer-provided group health benefits and have a catastrophic illness where your plan pays, say, $5 million for your care. Do you then have to pay taxes on that $5 million claim?

The article does not mention reigning in the malpractice lawsuit industry, of course. Doctors have to incur annually hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for malpractice coverage, which in turn has provoked shortages of obstetricians in areas of the country.

What would be next after that? Plundering the 401Ks and IRAs?

Digg!

Share on Facebook

Share

Filed Under: Barack Obama, health care, healthcare, Oh look Obama changed his mind Tagged With: Fausta's blog

Comments

  1. T the D says

    March 15, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    Absolutely ridiculous – what won’t they consider taxing? I think the answer is “nothing.”

    ~T the D
    http://thedrunkelephant.blogspot.com/

  2. Robert says

    March 15, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    I do believe the reference is to removing our current tax break on health insurance premiums and not taxing health costs paid out on insurance claims.

    But a tax increase is a tax increase. What worries me along with this is having to pay medicaid against 100% of income and social security tax against 100% of income when you will never receive any increase in benefit.

  3. Roy Lofquist says

    March 15, 2009 at 2:38 pm

    I have here in front of me my Form SSA-1099. Last year I had $1,060 deducted from my SS benefits for medicare part B. Retirees do pay for some part of medicare. In addition I, like many retirees, pay $157 per month for supplemental insurance as medicare has limited coverage compared to the average employer provided insurance.

  4. Gringo says

    March 15, 2009 at 6:43 pm

    While I haven’t for a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmah, because I have gone without health insurance for the better part of the last 25 years, I would consider this proposal at least meriting consideration. Part of the skyrocketing increase in health care costs comes from the well-insured health consumer incurring little personal financial cost from his healthcare choices.

  5. 11B40 says

    March 15, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    Greetings:

    Back in the last ’70s, I spent some time studying Public Administration at Baruch College (CUNY). One of the concepts that I retained was the “fundamentalism vs. incrementalism” dynamic. Fundamentalism referred to policies like Social Security which sprang up “de novo” with nothing similar previously existing. Incrementalism referred to making changes, mostly minor in nature, to an already existing program, such as welfare “reform.”

    I think that I would have much more confidence in the current tinkering (no disrespect to the “tinkers” on St. Paddy’s almost eve) if someone involved in the process would acknowledge and address this dynamic, perhaps by pursuing two different lines of study which could then be compared.

    My understanding is that employers providing health insurance first began during a period of tight labor availability and then grew incrementally from there. That may have helped address the labor shortage problem, but is it the best method to deal with the need long term? I guess that I think, at least, maybe not. The obvious problems are the percentage of employed and insured workers. Both of these categories seem to be shrinking versus the total population due to the expansion of welfare programs and the increase in illegal immigration. Additionally, employer provided health insurance can be a burden in our now existent global marketplace. But, for me, the bottom line is that if we, as a society, want to legally make healthcare a “fundamental right” why have a “third party” (an employer) involved in the system. I think that that logic escapes me.

    Thus, I am not totally against considering taxing health insurance benefits as income but would much prefer it as part of a comprehensive, perhaps fundamental, restructuring of how we provide heathcare to our citizens.

  6. newton says

    March 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    “What would be next after that? Plundering the 401Ks and IRAs?”

    I bet Obama and Co will go after mattresses last.

    That’s where all of our moneys are going to be sheltered in after they are done killing our financial system.

  7. Lyn says

    March 16, 2009 at 2:39 pm

    The US can’t afford Obama’s plans for health care reform. It is wrong to tax employer provided health insurance. It is wrong to tax employees for the value of this important benefit.

    This has got to be stopped. I don’t want the working class or middle class to be taxed to support Obama’s vision of socialized medicine or health care reform. I don’t even want the rich or the corporations taxed I don’t care if they do benefit from somehow from tax breaks for paying workers’ health insurance premiums. Employer provided health insurance is already getting harder to get. Taxing it would only make things worse for all of us.

Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com