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Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, discusses possible changes to tax rules for employer-sponsored health coverage, House commendation of lawmaking that would allow FDA to modulate tobacco and a House committee's blessing of a bill that would allow for more visas to be issued to foreign nurses in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."
According to Carey, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimonial about possible changes to the intervention of assess subsidies for employer-sponsored health benefits, which excludes premiums paid by employers from taxable income for employees. Economists at the hearing said that changing the tax treatment could yield up to $250 billion annually to help furnish coverage to the uninsured. However, witnesses testified that the changes also could produce problems for those who get employer-sponsored health care. For example, employers could refuse to proffer insurance, which could make it more difficult for older and sicker employees to purchase private coverage because group premiums oft are depress than individual premiums. If employers would drop coverage, there also is the possibility that they could raise employee wages with the money that would have gone to pay for wellness insurance, Carey says. Witnesses said that the change could be made lento, requiring that private insurers do not charge sicker members higher rates and requiring that all people purchase coverage.
Carey also discusses a bill (HR 1108) approved by a veto-proof 326-102 margin in the House that would allow FDA to modulate tobacco and nicotine levels. The bill would not allow FDA to ban cigarettes or nicotine instantly, but it would impose restrictions on how cigarettes can be advertised and sold. Under the nib, FDA would receive regulative funding from fees set on tobacco plant product manufacturers and importers. It is not known when the Senate will consider the legislation, though several Republican senators have expressed opposition to the measure. The White House says the bill could lead multitude to imagine some tobacco plant products ar safe and would disorder FDA from its main duties of drug and food safety device. The disposal also objects to the proposed tax on cigarettes that would finance the bill.
In plus, Carey discusses approval of legislation (HR 5924) by the House Judiciary subcommittee that would provide 20,000 visas annually for three days to handle a nursing shortage in the U.S. Bill patronize Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) said hospitals have more than 115,000 nursing vacancies, and HHS has warned that the number could grow to one million by 2020. The legislation likewise would provide grants to U.S. nursing schools to help boost enrollment, as well as grants to fund new nursing breeding programs. Opponents of the measure say that if sectors like nursing are given special visa discourse, it will impede comprehensive immigration reform.
The complete audio frequency version of "Health on the Hill," transcript and resources for further research are available online at kaisernetwork.org.
Reprinted with kind permission from hTTP://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can eyeshot the integral Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at hTTP://www.kaisernetwork.
