Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wealthiest Americans Would See Nearly $200K Tax Cut If Health Law Is Repealed
Bloomberg: Obamacare Repeal Seen As Tax Cut For Top 1%, Raise For Others
If the law were eliminated, as President-elect Donald Trump and members of Congress have pledged to do, the top 1 percent of earners would see an average tax cut of $33,000, while the top 0.1 percent would enjoy an average tax break of $197,000, the Tax Policy Center found. The non-partisan group is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. Meanwhile, the lowest-income households, which make less than $25,000, would see their tax bills increase on average by $90 under a full repeal. But that average masks a wide variation -- most low-income households would see no change, researchers found, and 7 percent of them would get an average tax cut of about $1,200. But 4 percent would see a tax increase averaging almost $3,900. (Kapur, 12/15)
The Associated Press: Study: Repealing Obama Health Law Cuts Taxes For Wealthy
Republicans may be handing wealthy Americans a big tax cut by repealing President Barack Obama's health care law, according to a study released Thursday that spells out potential economic pitfalls behind the election-year slogans. The richest households — those with incomes above $3.7 million — would get an average tax cut of about $197,000, said the analysis from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution think tanks. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/15)
The Hill: Study: ObamaCare Repeal Would Mean Big Tax Cut For High Earners
Repeal of ObamaCare would cut taxes for high-income earners while causing an increase in taxes for some lower-income people due to the loss of tax credits, a new analysis finds. The analysis from the Tax Policy Center, a joint effort of the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, finds that the top 1 percent of earners would get, on average, a $33,000 tax cut, or about 2 percent of after-tax income, from ObamaCare repeal.Among middle- and low-income people, by contrast, most people would either get a small tax cut or no change in taxes at all. (Sullivan, 12/15)
Vox: Study: Obamacare Repeal Means A $197,000 Tax Cut For The 0.1 Percent
Repealing Obamacare wouldn’t just end health coverage for 20 million people. It would also mean a significant tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. These tax figures are important for understanding why Republicans are so committed to Obamacare repeal. It’s not just about delivering on a campaign promise to get rid of President Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. It’s also about providing a significant tax cut to the top 1 percent of earners. (Kliff, 12/15)
Modern Healthcare: Think Hard Before Repealing ACA Taxes, Some Republicans Warn
Many congressional Republicans are pushing to swiftly repeal most of the Affordable Care Act through an expedited budget process next month. If they abolish the law, wealthy taxpayers, health insurers, medical-device manufacturers, hospitals, and other interest groups all are demanding that they also repeal the myriad revenue provisions that pay for the law's premium subsidies, Medicaid expansion, enhancement of Medicare benefits and extension of solvency for Medicare's hospital trust fund. (Meyer, 12/15)
