BlackFlag10
College Conservative
- Jun 1, 2012
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Political ideology and world viewpoints aside, economists and politicians generally agree on the fact that the laws of supply and demand and the dynamics of price action are constantly at work in the market. Furthermore, all Americans generally agree that incentives are very strong things. Consider taxes for example. If a business owner will be taxed higher for every dollar that he makes over a certain point, what incentive does he have to work harder in order to earn more money above this tax threshold? If this threshold were not present, then he would be much more inclined to work, therefore, earn more money.
The reason I bring up this tax incentive, or lack thereof, is because of the role that taxable income can play in a smarter route to healthcare reform.
Consider this scenario: A physician runs his own practice in downtown Charlotte. Every day, he treats people that have health insurance; he receives his payment from the insurance company, and he pays his taxes. His costs remain high because of his need to make a profit, therefore stay in business. He must take into account how much of a percentage he will be taxed on the revenue that he is generating.
What if this physician did not have to worry about how much of a percentage the government would take in taxes, however?
In my plan, when a doctor or physician treats someone without health insurance, every cents worth of that treatment will be non-taxable income that the doctor has generated. For instance, if Mary, an uninsured single mother, gets treated for an illness at Doctor Smiths office for $100, Dr. Smith would not have to pay taxes on any of that $100. However, taxes would still be taken out on income generated from payments originating from insurance companies.
Obviously, in this situation, Dr. Smith would not set the same price for Mary that he would for an insured person. In an effort to attract more uninsured patients, Dr. Smith would lower his prices for the uninsured so that he could generate more income that would not be taxed. Dr. Roberts, another physician down the street would see that Dr. Smith has lowered his prices for the uninsured, and he would attempt to undercut his prices to be more attractive. Barack Obama has flaunted the idea of shopping around for the most affordable coverage. This plan causes a healthcare market that promoted exactly that.
Political ideology and world viewpoints aside, economists and politicians generally agree on the fact that the laws of supply and demand and the dynamics of price action are constantly at work in the market. Furthermore, all Americans generally agree that incentives are very strong things. Consider taxes for example. If a business owner will be taxed higher for every dollar that he makes over a certain point, what incentive does he have to work harder in order to earn more money above this tax threshold? If this threshold were not present, then he would be much more inclined to work, therefore, earn more money.
The reason I bring up this tax incentive, or lack thereof, is because of the role that taxable income can play in a smarter route to healthcare reform.
Consider this scenario: A physician runs his own practice in downtown Charlotte. Every day, he treats people that have health insurance; he receives his payment from the insurance company, and he pays his taxes. His costs remain high because of his need to make a profit, therefore stay in business. He must take into account how much of a percentage he will be taxed on the revenue that he is generating.
What if this physician did not have to worry about how much of a percentage the government would take in taxes, however?
In my plan, when a doctor or physician treats someone without health insurance, every cents worth of that treatment will be non-taxable income that the doctor has generated. For instance, if Mary, an uninsured single mother, gets treated for an illness at Doctor Smiths office for $100, Dr. Smith would not have to pay taxes on any of that $100. However, taxes would still be taken out on income generated from payments originating from insurance companies.
Obviously, in this situation, Dr. Smith would not set the same price for Mary that he would for an insured person. In an effort to attract more uninsured patients, Dr. Smith would lower his prices for the uninsured so that he could generate more income that would not be taxed. Dr. Roberts, another physician down the street would see that Dr. Smith has lowered his prices for the uninsured, and he would attempt to undercut his prices to be more attractive. Barack Obama has flaunted the idea of shopping around for the most affordable coverage. This plan causes a healthcare market that promoted exactly that.
