Voices

Health Insurance Taxes up for Grabs on Capitol Hill

Congress is divided on how to pay for health insurance reform and the legislation may not arrive by August, as planned.

Two good articles in the NY Times and the AP explain the predicament that the Senate and House are facing in trying to craft a bill that will attract bipartisan support without causing a revolt among taxpayers. Let's face it. Very few people are eager to see their health benefits taxed. The idea of taxing health benefits to pay for health benefits for somebody else whose employer isn't willing to pay for them seems almost like a poison pill designed to kill the chances of the legislation ever passing. 

However, that still leaves the rather vexing problem of paying for a health insurance program that promises to become even more expensive than Medicare and Medicaid combined, and it's no wonder that Congress can't come to a consensus. 

It's going to be a very long summer indeed on Capitol Hill.

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