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Would the Senate Health Care Bill Keep the Poor Poor?

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Auditorium/Wintergarden
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Featuring
Featuring Michael F. Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute; and C. Eugene Steuerle, Institute Fellow and Richard B. Fisher Chair, Urban Institute.

Congressional leaders are weighing their options for moving the Senate-passed health care overhaul through the House. That legislation would have the undesirable effect of discouraging low-wage workers from climbing the economic ladder. A new Cato Institute study by Michael F. Cannon finds that implicit tax rates would often exceed 100 percent for low-wage workers, which could trap millions of Americans in low-wage jobs. Cannon also finds that the Senate bill creates incentives as large as $8,000 per year for people to purchase health insurance only when they are sick.