Pass H.R. 1117 to Level the Health Care Playing Field

Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) today praised H.R. 1117, the Health Care Freedom of Choice Act. This bill, introduced by Congressman Chris Cox (R-CA), corrects a significant distortion in the tax code. The code currently exempts health care costs for workers covered by employer-provided health plans, but not those expenses incurred by people outside of these systems, unless they spend 7.5 percent of their gross income on health care and medical costs.

CSE President and CEO Paul Beckner commented:

“One of the many distorting, unreasonable provisions in the current tax code is the arbitrary treatment of health care costs depending on who you work for. Congressman Cox would move towards leveling the playing field for all workers, including the self-employed.

“By eliminating the 7.5 percent hurdle, individual consumers will have the same incentives as employers when buying health care. Our hope is that this bill will encourage new markets for healthcare, bringing competition that will lower prices while at the same time allowing individuals to buy health care that is not tied to a specific employer.

“In the long run, we’d like to see the tax treatment and the portability of health care insurance examined as part of fundamental reform of our broken tax system. Until that time, however, H.R. 1117 is a major step forward to putting consumers in control of their health care and to leveling the playing field for all workers.”