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Personal Consequences of the McCain Health Care Proposal
When I started applying what I've learned about McCain's health care proposals to my own situation, here is what I find.
As a self-employed person with several pre-existing conditions, I was turned down for coverage in the individual coverage market.
Fortunately, I live in a state with a high-risk insurance pool that has negotiated guaranteed coverage after my term in the high-risk program expired.
Unfortunately, my guaranteed coverage costs in excess of $7,000 a year -- yes, that's just for me as a single, self-employed person.
The McCain plan would give me a $2,500 tax credit, as I understand it. Big deal.
Then there are all the co-pays and deductibles, which I'm still on the hook for and which don't seem to have been thought through, unless I've missed something big and appealing in their plan.
Isn't this just another set of back-door subsidies for the insurance companies to ensure they can continue to gouge people like me who have few options besides being uninsured?
Comments (2)
And lets not forget the other portion of McCain's fu to health care for Americans.
Right now I am able to pay my employer provided health care premiums with pre-tax dollars.
That means that my health care premium is deducted first. Then the remaining income is tallied and income tax withheld, therefore I pay less income tax.
McCain will remove that option. He will screw the middle class by making us pay for our premiums AFTER all of our income is tallied, and income tax accounted for.
So that whole $2500 tax credit is complete bullshit. In fact McCain's plan will completely screw the middle class even more.
October 4, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
You left out something. Not only will YOUR payments no longer be pre-tax, but the part your employer now pays will be ADDED to your taxable income so you'll pay EVEN MORE taxes.
October 4, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
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