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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
TO THE EDITOR: Congratulations to Business Insurance on a nice, well-balanced editorial on the Bush proposal. I agree that, although it would equalize the tax treatment of employer-based and nongroup coverage, it wouldn't much change an employer's underlying reasons for offering--or not offering--health coverage.
One thing you missed, though, is that it also would equalize the tax treatment of premiums and out-of-pocket spending.
As your readers know, this is a constant trade-off. Lower premiums mean higher out-of-pocket expenses and vice versa. Bush would make it all tax-advantaged, not just the premium side.
It should encourage people to think more rationally about how much health care should be "covered" and how much should be paid directly.
Greg Scandlen
President
Consumers for Health Care Choices
Hagerstown, Md.