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Don’t penalize those buying health insurance
The Gazette Opinion Staff
Dec. 6, 2009 11:05 pm
I am one of the only Americans acting responsibly in the health insurance market. I buy my own insurance. I have a large deductible ($5,000 per year), so I am actually buying health insurance, not prepaid health care.
Washington's tax policies already increase my costs because I don't get to deduct my premiums from my federal income tax, as people who get their insurance through their employers do. This is blatantly irrational and unfair - why should I subsidize these people's health care?
But now, in the name of reform, Washington's plan is to increase my premiums even more. The Congressional Budget Office says I will be paying 10 percent to
13 percent more if the current reform bill is passed.
I strongly urge everyone to oppose this decidedly unfair legislation.
Rick Stewart
Cedar Rapids
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