Something about health care

I admit it -- I have not read the legislature's draft bills for health care reform, nor do I intend to. So I'm relying on bloggers to keep me informed, which certainly doesn't make me an authority. But thanks to my lovely disclaimer, I get to go ahead and write my thoughts, lacking though they may be.

My favorite blog quote on the issue comes from Joe Kristan:

The government that brought us profitable and money-saving innovations like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Amtrak and the Postal Service now is going to try its hand at health insurance.

The idea of government running the health care system scares the dickens out of me.

As with many issues of public policy, I have no problem with the ideal that everyone gets the health care they need.

It is the way in which we work toward that ideal and the sacrifices we make along the way that terrify me.

I've spent much of the past few years dealing with two very large government bureaucracies: the IRS and the military. So my confidence in a government health care system is, well, not there.

CNN Money writes about 5 freedoms you'd lose in health care reform:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan
2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs
3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage
4. Freedom to keep your existing plan
5. Freedom to choose your doctors

I don't much like the sound of this. But the President isn't calling to talk to me, so I'll have to settle for writing here.

Peter Pappas provides a great round-up of the discussion from key tax bloggers, and here are some posts to check out:

• Taxgirl: Congress Puts Brakes on Health Care Reform
• Taxgirl: Health Care Plan Leaves Huge Hole in the Budget
• Taxprof: House Marks Up Health Care Reform Bill
• Tax Foundation: Who Should Pay for Health Care Reform?
• The Tax Lawyer: Taxing the Rich Because You Can: The Beginning of Totalitarianism
• Kay Bell: Healthcare surtax not progressive enough

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Fair is fair

As a nation we have grown accustom to certain tax benefits, including the exclusion of health insurance benefits from income.

For most of my life, my health insurance has been provided by an employer (whether my own employer that of my parents or husband), so I've certainly benefited from the provision. But just because I benefit doesn't make it fair.

This is one of those concepts with which some people struggle. When considering the issue, an experience from high school comes to mind. It was back in my semester of Economics. During a discussion on Affirmative Action, a friend of mine spoke out against it. To her arguments, the teacher countered that she should be in favor of AA because it would likely help her (as a white female).

So that teacher lost all credibility with me at that point. Just because something helps me doesn't make it right.

For a good explanation for why it is fair to tax health insurance, I recommend the Taxgirl's post.

Of course, both the tax code and government spending are full of provisions that are not exactly fair, so maybe this isn't the issue to "straighten out" first. And the whole discussion may be irrelevant, since the measure is stalling out in Congress (see the latest post from Taxgirl). But we shall see what we shall see.

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