President George Bush
This page was last updated on April 16, 2007. For the most up-to-date information regarding President Bush's policy proposals, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/healthcare/.
President Bush's Healthcare Reform Proposal
The following summary was derived from information released by the office of President George Bush:
The plan provides a new standard deduction for health insurance. The deduction would:
- Be $15,000 for a family and $7,500 for an individual
- Apply to both income and payroll taxes
- Be available to anyone who had private health insurance of any value
- The only requirement is that the health insurance policy must cover at least catastrophic costs
- Health insurance provided by an employer would be considered taxable income
- To qualify for the standard deduction for health insurance (SDHI), the coverage must meet minimum coverage requirements, including:
- A limit on out-of-pocket exposure for covered expenses that is not higher than that currently allowable for HSA (e.g. for 2007, those limits would be $5,500 for single coverage and $11,000 for family coverage)
- A reasonable annual and/or lifetime benefit maximum
- Coverage for inpatient and outpatient care, emergency benefits, and physician care
- Guaranteed renewability by the provider
