Americans Deserve Tax Equity For Health Insurance And Long-Term Care Insurance

Apr 15, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 15, 1999

CONTACT: Richard Coorsh

(202) 824-1787

rcoorsh@hiaa.org

The following statement was released today by Chip Kahn, President of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA):

People who buy their own health insurance ought to have the same tax advantage that most employers already have, but unfortunately, this is now not the case. The April 15^th deadline for filing federal income taxes is an appropriate time to reiterate our call for tax equity for people who wish to buy individual health insurance and long-term care insurance.

More than 43 million Americans lack health insurance, and the main reason why people don’t buy it is due to cost. Most employers can deduct the full amount of their health insurance premiums from their taxes, but self-employed individuals, people whose employers don’t offer health insurance, and people who want to purchase individual health insurance currently cannot.

HIAA and its member companies believe that extending the full tax deduction to individuals and self-employed people makes good sense because it would make health insurance more affordable to more people, and because it’s the right thing to do. We also believe that individuals should receive a 100 percent tax deduction for the cost of private long-term care insurance, which can protect millions of Americans – and their parents – from the often catastrophic cost of nursing homes and home health care.

###