State of the Union AddressesBush, George W. (George Walker)
History
State of the Union Addresses
Bush, George W. (George Walker)
Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
And so tonight, I propose two new initiatives to help more Americans
afford their own insurance. First, I propose a standard tax deduction
for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for
dependents. Families with health insurance will pay no income on
payroll tax -- or payroll taxes on $15,000 of their income. Single
Americans with health insurance will pay no income or payroll taxes on
$7,500 of their income. With this reform, more than 100 million men,
women, and children who are now covered by employer-provided insurance
will benefit from lower tax bills. At the same time, this reform will
level the playing field for those who do not get health insurance
through their job. For Americans who now purchase health insurance on
their own, this proposal would mean a substantial tax savings -- $4,500
for a family of four making $60,000 a year. And for the millions of
other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction
would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their
reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making
health care affordable for more Americans. (Applause.)
My second proposal is to help the states that are coming up with
innovative ways to cover the uninsured. States that make basic private
health insurance available to all their citizens should receive federal
funds to help them provide this coverage to the poor and the sick. I
have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with
Congress to take existing federal funds and use them to create
"Affordable Choices" grants. These grants would give our nation's
governors more money and more flexibility to get private health
insurance to those most in need.
There are many other ways that Congress can help. We need to expand
Health Savings Accounts. (Applause.) We need to help small businesses
through Association Health Plans. (Applause.) We need to reduce costs
and medical errors with better information technology. (Applause.) We
will encourage price transparency. And to protect good doctors from
junk lawsuits, we passing medical liability reform. (Applause.) In all
we do, we must remember that the best health care decisions are made
not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their
doctors. (Applause.)
Extending hope and opportunity in our country requires an immigration
system worthy of America -- with laws that are fair and borders that
are secure. When laws and borders are routinely violated, this harms
the interests of our country. To secure our border, we're doubling the
size of the Border Patrol, and funding new infrastructure and
technology.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account