Bush’s Healthcare Reform: More Welfare for Corporate America

President George W. Bush is knee deep in it himself, though it’s not mud that he’s stuck in. He unveiled his version of “health care reform” during his January 23 State of the Union address before the new Democratically-controlled Congress. As difficult as it is to imagine, his take on universal healthcare is even worse than his plan to send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq. Bush’s idea of “healthcare reform” is nothing short of a huge giveaway to corporate America. It’s a slap in the face to working-class people who can barely make it in an economy that has left them poorer than they’ve been in a long time.

The Bush proposal in a nutshell: Employees who are fortunate enough to have heath insurance would suddenly have to pay taxes on it. All those healthcare benefits packages that have been won through long years of struggle by the labor movement would be considered taxable income. Companies, too, would be taxed on the portion of those benefits that they pay for their workers. Those without health benefits would allegedly have an incentive for buying insurance: They’d get a tax credit every year.

Universal healthcare it ain’t. It’s hardly even “reform” of our healthcare system. It’s a windfall for health insurance providers. It’s a step backwards for American workers. It penalizes those who already have benefits. It gives their employers the most compelling reason to drop their insurance plans: profits. Why would any corporation want to continue providing insurance that costs big bucks to begin with and is taxable on top of it? Bush’s plan may ultimately result in American workers losing their benefits and then being forced to fend for themselves in the overpriced marketplace of health insurance.

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