WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, will convene a hearing on “Taking a Check-up on the Nation's Health Care Tax Policy: A Prognosis" at
10 a.m., on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to examine the impact of current tax incentives on health care costs and coverage. The federal government’s tax expenditure for employer-provided health benefits is the largest single tax expenditure -- about $1 trillion over 10 years for income taxes and over $970 billion over 10 years in FICA taxes. The witness’ perspective will be useful as Grassley and the committee consider whether to move forward with any legislation in this area.
The committee will hear testimony from three panelists:
--Paul O’Neill, former Secretary of the Treasury, will speak broadly about the health care system and discuss the impact of our current health tax incentives on health care costs and coverage.
Former Secretary O’Neill will testify as a private citizen who has a deep background in health tax policy issues through his previous tenure as Treasury Secretary (and other government positions) and his long and distinguished career in the business and public policy arenas.
--Robert W. Lane, Chairman and CEO of John Deere, Inc., will represent the Business Roundtable. He will speak to the challenges business faces in providing health benefits to workers in a climate of skyrocketing costs and global competition.
--Leonard E. Burman, Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute.
He has written extensively on health care tax incentives and their implications.
-30-
Source: Ranking Member’s News
