How the Senate Health Bill Creates Inequities Among American Workers

Kathryn Nix / December 07, 2009

The closer you look at the 2074 page Senate Health Bill (H.R. 3590), the more and more complicated it becomes. Forget that level playing field.

As the Congress tries to figure out how to extend health insurance coverage to all Americans (They won’t, of course), Senate Democrats have proposed a federally designed health insurance exchange to operate in the several states through which individuals and small employers can purchase bureaucrat- approved health insurance.

Embodied in this scheme is the inclusion of generous taxpayer subsidies for Americans whose income falls below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level ( Today that would be $88,000 annually for a family of four). These subsidies include a cap on the maximum percentage of a family’s income which can be spent on coverage. (more…)