Bush's new healthcare plan
Bush announced a new health care initiative Tuesday night at the State of the Union address that I haven't really heard many people talking about. So I thought I would take a jab at it.
Bush's plan: to allow people who are currently paying for health insurance to deduct it from their taxes at the end of the year (with limits I'm sure). One's gut reaction would probably be: "wow, that sounds like a pretty good deal." But I fear that the devil is hidden in the details (as he usually is).
The plan seems good for middle class Americans, like myself, who have to shell out a couple hundred bucks each paycheck to cover my families health care. I'm pretty lucky that the company I work for offers a really good health insurance package, however it definitely comes with a pretty steep price tag.
So naturally, the idea of being able to write my health insurance premium off at the end of the year sounds pretty good to me. But I have to remember that only a few short months ago I was among the millions of Americans who cannot afford health insurance or who work for companies that do not provide health benefits.
Bush said that his new plan would "level the playing field" for those that do not have or cannot afford health coverage. But how exactly does he think this will work? Allowing people to write off their health insurance premiums at the end of the year does not mean that they are going to be able to afford the outrageous up-front monthly costs involved. Knowing that at the end of the year I will probably get back a good chunk of the change I put into my health insurance does not make that money available to me when I need it the most -- the day it is taken out of my paycheck.
Low-income is low-income and just because you are getting a tax break at the end of the year, doesn't change the fact that you are still struggling to make ends meet.
I think Bush's plan is a nice fantasy that was put together to make sure that the private insurance companies aren't hurt in any way. Of course, he also suggested to Congress that federal funds be granted to states (such as California) who are working to provide all of its citizens with affordable health care, but is that really enough?
Bush's plan does not change the fact that the United States is the only remaining first world country that does not guarantee its citizens health care coverage. There is still no excuse why the richest nation on the planet has such a high percentage of its population without decent medical insurance.
With all of his talk about "balancing the budget" and getting rid of the national deficit, it never ceases to amaze me that someone can be so disconnected from the reality of things. How can someone talk about reducing the deficit and helping out the people that cannot afford medical insurance when this administration is spending billions on an illegal and immoral imperial war?
Just imagine who many health insurance plans that money could buy.
File Under: health care, Bush, State of the Union, editorial