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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Nick Kotik State
Rep. Chris Sainato |
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Kotik/Sainato introduce resolution asking Congress
not to tax employer-paid health insurance benefits
HARRISBURG, June 9 – State Reps. Nick Kotik, D-Allegheny, and Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence/Beaver, have introduced a resolution (H.R. 343) in the state House of Representatives that would urge the U.S. Congress not to tax employer-paid health insurance benefits.
Sainato said as part of efforts to reform the nation's health insurance system, Congress is examining the possibility of taxing some employer-paid health insurance benefits as a way to partially fund expanded health-care coverage for the uninsured.
"While I applaud Congress for attempting to reform the health-care system, I don’t believe the way to do so is through a tax that would primarily affect our middle class working families," Sainato said.
According to Sainato and Kotik, approximately 60 percent of people under 65 receive health insurance through their employer.
"Placing a tax on certain health benefits would really put the working middle class at a disadvantage," Kotik said. "Taxing the health insurance benefits of people who still do have coverage, and increasing their cost of care, is not something we should be doing at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet."
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