[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 637. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow 
the first $2,000 of health insurance premiums to be fully deductible; 
to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the Health 
Insurance Tax Relief Act to help our Nation's working families deal 
with the recent dramatic increases in health care costs. The 
legislation would allow taxpayers to deduct up to $2000 in out-of-
pocket health insurance costs per year.
  While this small Federal contribution to assist families with the 
health care costs they bear will not solve all of the problems in our 
health care system, it will provide immediate help for working families 
who have seen health care costs explode. In 2001, the last year for 
which we have data, the cost of health care for employer sponsored 
insurance rose 11 percent. To deal with this increase, 75 percent of 
large employers and 42 percent of small business employers said they 
were likely to increase employee premium costs.
  In addition, according to the Center for Health System Change, 
employers will likely be raising deductibles and co-payments and 
perhaps using more coinsurance, where patients pay a percentage of the 
cost of their care rather than a fixed dollar amount. And, some 
businesses are dropping health insurance benefits entirely.
  This is an issue of fairness. We already provide a tax break for 
small business owners who provide health insurance, and we also provide 
one for individuals who are self-employed. But currently there is no 
provision that allows for employees, who are faced with additional 
financial responsibility for their premium costs, to take a tax 
deduction on their out-of-pocket expenses. This legislation rectifies 
that unfairness and will help families meet rising health care costs.
  The need for this legislation is particularly important for employees 
in small businesses, many of which sought to minimize premium increases 
by adding or increasing deductibles, co-payments and coinsurance. But 
this shifting of health insurance costs from employers to employees is 
not limited to small firms. The California Public Employees' Retirement 
System, CalPERS, the second-largest purchaser of health care after the 
Federal Government, approved a 25 percent increase in health insurance 
premiums for 2003. CalPERS provides retirement and health benefit 
services to more than 1.3 million members and nearly 2,500 employers. 
These are hard working Americans struggling to make ends meet in a weak 
economy.
  That is why, we should provide some targeted assistance to help 
families pay for health care. I urge my colleagues to support my 
legislation.
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