January 26, 2007

President Puts Health Coverage on Table

In his annual State of the Union address, President Bush gave the issue of affordable health insurance high prominence.

• The President proposed a plan intended to make affordable health coverage accessible for more consumers.
   
• Health care leaders applaud the President for taking the initiative to jump-start a much-needed discussion.  By placing his ideas on the table, President Bush has moved the uninsured to the front burner of domestic policy discussions.

President Bush deserves considerable credit for stepping out on health care. He presented the nation a detailed proposal to cut the number of uninsured Americans.

• The Bush plan would give a standard tax deduction for health coverage, regardless of whether someone's health insurance comes through an employer or is bought independently.
   
• The proposal also eases the ability of states to find ways to insure more people.  States could help by letting lower-income people leverage public dollars to buy private health insurance.  States would get the flexibility to create high-risk pools and innovatively insure those who are harder to insure.
   
• Subsequently, the President indicated a willingness to consider a tax credit instead of a tax deduction. The Washington Post commended him on this and urged the Democratic Congress to cooperate with the White House on crafting a solution.

The details of the White House plan require a thorough review and debate.  Health care leaders hope this debate does indeed take place.

• Too often in our political culture, new ideas are rejected out of hand and declared "dead on arrival."  This is especially true when different parties control the executive and legislative branches.
   
• The country can't afford partisanship when health care costs for all Americans are being driven up by the growing ranks of the uninsured.  The presence of over 46 million people without health coverage is a pressing domestic priority.
   
• Both parties, on Capitol Hill and at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, must put aside party interest and think of the public interest.

The President has put forth some important concepts. They warrant serious discussion – addressing the uninsured issue with tools to make private coverage more accessible, placing more health care decision-making in consumers' hands, enabling states to creatively use federal funds to help more residents get health coverage. Health care leaders hope this latest proposal acts as a catalyst for congressional debate and action.