Tax Relief Would Provide Affordable Coverage For Millions Of Americans

Jun 16, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 16, 1999

CONTACT: Richard Coorsh

(202) 824-1787

rcoorsh@hiaa.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress should pass and the President should sign into law tax relief to help millions of uninsured Americans afford the cost of health coverage, according to Chip Kahn, President of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA).

Additionally, Mr. Kahn called upon Congress to pass "The Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 1999" (H.R. 2102), which would provide consumers who purchase private long-term care insurance with an eventual 100 percent tax deduction.

Mr. Kahn – testifying today at a hearing about health insurance tax initiatives before the House Committee on Ways and Means – said that federal tax relief would benefit more than 100 million Americans who currently cannot deduct the full cost of health insurance premiums, such as small business owners, the self-employed, and individuals without access to employer-paid health insurance.

Mr. Kahn noted that HIAA’s recently announced "InsureUSA" proposal – which would provide health coverage for up to 29 million uninsured Americans and enable millions more to better afford the cost of health insurance – contains several tax relief provisions, including full tax deductibility of premiums to everyone purchasing individual health insurance policies. "The tax incentives in InsureUSA could help nearly 39 million Americans who belong to families whose head of household works for a company with 10 or fewer employees," he noted.

According to Mr. Kahn, the families of 9 out of 10 uninsured Americans whose breadwinner works for a business with 10 or fewer employees have income less than two times the federal poverty level. He added that nearly 1 out of 4 self-employed Americans have no health insurance, and nearly 3 out of 10 Americans in families without access to employer-sponsored health insurance lack health coverage.

On the other hand, extending an immediate 100 percent tax deduction to everyone purchasing individual health insurance policies could make coverage more affordable for more than 12 million self-employed workers and nearly 25 million Americans in families without access to employer-sponsored health coverage, according to Mr. Kahn.

Mr. Kahn also observed that tax relief in H.R. 2102 would help millions of Americans better protect themselves against the often-catastrophic costs of nursing home and home health care. "Long-term care is the largest unfunded liability facing Americans today," he noted. "Continued growth of the private long-term care insurance market will encourage millions of Americans to plan for their future long-term care costs, and will restrain future costs to federal and state governments by reducing Medicaid outlays."

HIAA is the nation’s most prominent trade association representing the private health care system. Its 269 members provide health, long-term care, disability, and supplemental coverage to more than 115 million Americans.

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