Blog 10.2

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090512/ap_on_go_co/us_health_overhaul;_ylt=AthL1Z3BNgN7Spp23cWrcxqyFz4D

Senators are purportedly considering limiting the tax-free status of employer-provided health benefits in an attempt to help pay for Barack Obama’s plan to provide coverage to the uninsured in this country.  That number is guessed to be around 50 million according to this article.  This I see as a problem because it definitely goes against some of the rhetoric that Obama used against John McCain’s plans to tax it—Obama was highly critical of it.  But, as the article explains, there are really no easy options when it comes to paying for the plans he hopes to accomplish.  The final plan is likely to include “a mix of increases in taxes, and spending cuts.”  Some of the items that could be heavily taxed are ones that can often cause health problems (where insurance is then needed)—they include: tobacco, sugary products, and alcoholic beverages.  Baucus says that one way to make this taxing problem easier is only taxing the health insurance of those who have higher incomes—I tend to agree with that.