There are 46 million Americans that are uninsured and this number is growing. This population tends to be poor, less educated, working in part-time jobs, and/or working for small firms. We are proposing that Congress pass legislation to offer refundable tax credits for health insurance for low-income individuals and families. Tax subsidies already exist, but are targeted towards people with middle to high incomes. These tax credits that are refundable are close to a voucher and are income based. They can also be applied to work or private non-group insurance. Currently uninsured individuals could get access to coverage and many could see the costs of health insurance go down.
Cost, access, and quality would all be affected by this. We believe that costs should not have to rise in order to have access to health care. We also believe that the uninsured should have equal access and improved outcomes as the insured. With tax credits, the cost for health care would not have to increase if flexible tax credits were used. For example, if there was a single-purpose tax credit per worker, expanding it into a flexible benefits tax credit would not increase government budget costs. There are greater benefits to using a flexible tax credit rather than a single-purpose tax credit. Access to health care would be influenced by this as well. Flexible tax credits could expand coverage for workers as well as children and it could protect employer-group insurance and retirement savings. Access to health care would greatly increase, especially for low-income individuals and families. When people are covered by health insurance, they are more likely to use health care services. Some improved outcomes would include less uninsured, more protection, and benefits for workers. Tax credits could help create economic security for Americans.
According to the article, A Flexible Benefits Tax Credit For Health Insurance And More, A flexible benefits tax credit could offer many families aid that they can use for their different situations and needs as times change. In the article it states that the lack of health insurance coverage is usually only a problem for a short-time, from six months to a year. It also stated that a flexible tax credit would achieve the broadest extension of health benefits and economic security for American workers. In the article it considered two options for flexible tax credit. The first option described how a flexible tax credit could achieve health insurance coverage for workers and their families. This is the reform we are proposing. The second option described how flexible benefits tax credit could also be expanded to include retirement savings, withdrawal options for higher education, first time home purchases and catastrophic medical expenses.
Our proposal is more important than competing proposals because it is solving one of the biggest problems that our nation faces, the unbelievably large amount of uninsured. The tax credit option would be available to over 40 million uninsured people. These people and families would have fewer visits to doctors for extreme medical cases, resulting in less money spent. This aligns with our teams view on wellness. The tax benefits are promoting healthier lives for families.
Some people may believe our stance is less important because of the word “tax.” It is the people’s money going towards other people problems. The word tax is usually not associated with anything good in our society. However, we believe that the benefits would out way the costs in the end. The number of families benefiting from the tax benefits would be enormous. Families would avoid bankruptcy due catastrophic medical problems. They not only would be able to afford health insurance but also to pay for education or to buy a new home.
References
Burman, Leonard E. and Gruber, Jonathan. (2005) Tax Credits for Health Insurance
http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/311189_IssuesOptions_11.pdf
Health Affairs: The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere. (2001).
A Flexible Benefits Tax Credit For Health Insurance and More. Retrieved March 23, 2009 from http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w1.1v1/DC1
Lynn, E. (2001). A Flexible Benefits Tax Credit for Health Insurance and More. The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w1.1v1/DC1
Meara, E., Rosenthal, M., & Sinaiko, A. (2007). Comparing the Effects of Health Insurance Reform Proposals: Employer Mandates, Medicaid Expansions, and Tax Credits. Employment Policies Institute.
http://www.epionline.org/study_detail.cfm?sid=104
Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2008). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach (4th ed., pp. 441-443). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Barlett Publishers.
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The content in the Healthcare Reform 3 portion of this blog corresponds to the problems in the speech language pathology field. I have job shadowed in an elementary speech and language classroom with a clinical SLP for the last two years. It is disappointing to see how much paperwork must be done in order for the children to get the treatment they need. Many of the students I worked with were struggling not only with speech difficulties but physical and mental handicaps as well. The vast majority of students with these disabilities are only able to do therapy at schools because outside of the classroom there are no funds to continue therapy. Time after time I was working with children whose parents or guardians were working several jobs and barely making ends meet. This is extremely difficult when students return to school in the fall. After three months of little to no therapy, their progress made in the previous year has become basically void. Their treatment in the speech department is put on hold because they must undergo extensive physical and occupational therapy before focusing again on their speech.
ReplyDeleteLiving in California, minorities are more likely than others to be uninsured in the last two years. A survey found that 53% of Hispanics and 38% of blacks were uninsured between 2007 and 2008, compared with 25% of whites. About 37% of non-senior Californians went without health insurance for at least one month between 2007 and 2008, and three-fourths of that group were uninsured for at least six months. according to another survey, 80.2% of uninsured Californians were employed but did not receive health insurance through their jobs. My family has no insurance because of the price. We are immigrants from the Philippines and to come across a good job is hard in my situation. I believe with this reform many things could change for the uninsured. My sister had a baby a year ago and the medical bills associated with it are still being paid off. With this reform it may possibly bring security to my family and many other families.
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