Congress Punts on Children’s Health Care in Favor of Tax Shelter for Wealthy Statement of Robert Greenstein, Executive Director
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
December 7, 2006
It is stunning that as one of its final acts, Congress chose to attach to the tax extenders bill a provision making Health Savings Accounts more lucrative as tax shelters for wealthy individuals even as Congress refused to provide funds needed to ensure that up to 600,000 low-income children keep their health insurance through the State ChildrenĆ¢ā¬ā¢s Health Insurance Program in 2007.
It has been known all year that without additional SCHIP funding, 17 states would face SCHIP shortfalls in 2007. The Administration included a proposal in its budget to address these shortfalls.
Various bills to resolve the problem were introduced in Congress. But when decision time came, Congressional leaders declined to act.
Coverage for up to 600,000 low-income children will be at risk as a result.
When it came to making HSAs more lucrative as tax shelters, by contrast, Congressional negotiators charted a different course. They took a special-interest HSA bill that had never been considered on the floor of either the Senate or House and attached it to the same bill to which they declined to attach the needed SCHIP resources.
To say this is disappointing would be an understatement. Congress has provided another windfall for Uncle Scrooge — and a lump of coal for Tiny Tim.
http://www.cbpp.org/12-7-06health-stmt.htm
Background on SCHIP shortfall:
http://www.cbpp.org/6-5-06health2.htm
Background on HSA expansion:
http://www.cbpp.org/9-26-06health2.htm
Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
Is this really the message that voters sent Congress last month?