The cornerstone of my campaign will be the idea that all Americans should have health insurance. Health insurance and the security that comes with it means more to most Americans than a tax cut — especially when the tax cut goes largely to the people who need it the least.
Providing health care for the uninsured is one of the surest stimulus measures we could give our economy. It provides financial relief to businesses that are struggling to provide it for their employees. It enhances labor mobility and would pump more money into one of the economy's biggest sectors: health care.Most uninsured Americans are full-time,
year-round workers or their dependents
There are
currently 41.2 million uninsured in the United States, and 55
percent of them are full-time, year-round workers or their
dependents. In 2001, the availability of job-related health
insurance fell to 68 percent.
Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) do provide health care coverage to poor Americans under 65, yet Americans under 65 still represent 25 percent of the uninsured population.
Our goal must be to provide every American with quality health care coverage.
We must make coverage more affordable for employers and employees alikeFirst, everyone who works should receive coverage through their employers. My plan will phase in a new, targeted and refundable tax credit for employers to expand their health insurance to cover all of their employees.
My tax credit will replace the existing employer tax deduction with a tax credit, increasing the value of the current deduction and making coverage more affordable for employers and employees alike. The tax credit will provide stability for the insured and will cover the vast majority of uninsured employees.
We must provide every American with quality health care coverageThe tax credit is a simple, workable proposal that will increase access by utilizing the existing system of health insurance financing. It will create no new bureaucracy, and it will not place any additional burdens on employers or employees. My plan also will stimulate the economy, contributing to economic growth through job creation in the health care industry and greater productivity among insured workers.
Second, my plan will also expand access to health care through existing federal programs to include a Medicare buy-in for uninsured Americans between the ages of 55 and 64, it will extend SCHIP coverage to the parents of children already covered by the program, and it will provide a federal contribution to COBRA coverage for the eligible unemployed.