GOP to go with McCain plan [tax health insurance, nationalize malpractice insurance]

ZDNet ^ | 2009-05-21 | Dana Blankenhorn

[rabscuttle385]

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[meandog]

Oooooooooh, that old Maverick McCain...he gets blamed even though this plan came out of the House!

[DonaldC]

Is this a tax on employer contribution piece of insurance or a tax on what insurance is paying out?

[Big_Monkey]

"Is this a tax on employer contribution piece of insurance or a tax on what insurance is paying out?

Contribution. If it was a tax on the actual claim payments themselves, it would too easily be labeled an "illness" tax and subsequently DOA.

[gorilla_warrior]

Kinda hard to draw a line in the sand when you are standing in the same place as the person on the “other side”. McCain is proof that the GOP is a sham party.

[what's up]

Tax current health insurance benefits, but give that back in the form of a tax credit to pay for existing health plans.

Actually, I think it was Bush who proposed this a few years back. Seems to me it will encourage competition and lower costs.

I like the "privitize Medicare" provision on the list.

[DonaldC]

In some ways, I think business needs to be mindful of costs, but spend more time growing revenue. The government, on the other hand needs to quit trying to grow revenue and do some serious cost cutting. Entire programs need to be whacked!

[mysterio]

[LowTaxesEqualProsperity]

What complete and utter fools.

Permanent minority status is apparently what they want.

[DallasDeb]

Currently insurance premiums are deferred before taxes are assessed. This bill would make a 180 degree turn. Would the employer pay the tax or would it be considered income of the employee’s and the employee would be taxed?

[Reagan69]

NOOOOOO ! NOOOOOOO ! NOOOOOOO !

ARE THEY C-R-A-Z-Y.?

[EternalVigilance]

Republicans have laid down their marker on health care reform

Democrats: "Let's tear down the Washington Monument."

Republican counter-proposal: "Let's tear down the Washington Monument in two stages."

[Big_Monkey]

"Would the employer pay the tax or would it be considered income of the employee’s and the employee would be taxed?

It would be considered income and gross income would be adjusted accordingly, at least that's my understanding.

Incidentally, I'm originally from NW Ohio and when I traveled back home during the campaign season, there was an Obama campaign commercial that directly targeted this provision of the McCain health care plan. The commercial ran in a couple of different forms, one paid for by Obama's campaign directly and the other paid for by the UAW, IIRC.

[TADSLOS]

Republicrats hard at work to win back power.

[Big_Monkey]

"Republican counter-proposal: "Let's tear down the Washington Monument in two stages."

I'm all eyes and ears if someone wants to offer up a better solution for America's uninsured. But, to say that things should just stay the same isn't offering a solution, it's offering the status quo.

If conservatives just keep saying "NO" without offering counter-proposals, then they'll be even more marginalized than they are now.

[calcowgirl]

Grrrrrrr...!!!!

[EternalVigilance]

I'm all eyes and ears if someone wants to offer up a better solution for America's uninsured.

No problem.

It's elegantly simple:

Stay within the Enumerated Powers and remain a free people.

[HwyChile]

Why is there not a barf alert with this anti-conservative, liberal written article? This article misrepresents and tries to paint the republican alternative as a bunch of bad ideas.

The biggest thing that started all of our health care problems was employer provided health care. That caused a disconnect between the consumer of the health care (employee) and the payer (who was not the employee). When this happens, the consumer (employee) does not make rational decisions on how much health care to demand or use because he or she is not paying for it, and this causes a higher demand than normal which causes prices to escalate. The republicans are correct in doing away with this mismatch and bringing the payment for the health care back down to the employee from the employer, but most people are not smart or informed enough to understand this, including most of the posters on this board.

[TADSLOS]

Stay within the Enumerated Powers and remain a free people.

AFRIKKIN'MEN.