THE TAXATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS

WHEREAS, the Reagan administration has proposed taxing workers for employer-paid health insurance benefits of $175 or more a month for a family plan and $70 or more a month for an individual plan; and

WHEREAS, this proposal would mean added tax burdens for about 30 percent of the 160 million people who receive health insurance through their employers; and

WHEREAS, the proposal would increase expenses and reduce access to health services by inducing workers to choose more limited health insurance plans; and

WHEREAS, the Reagan plan would discourage preventive care that keeps people out of hospitals and would further discourage workers from joining pre-paid comprehensive health care plans which focus on preventive medicine; and

WHEREAS, it would discriminately affect older and handicapped workers as well as workers in areas with higher health care premiums:

RESOLVED, that the AFT strongly opposes the imposition of taxation on health insurance benefits and so informs the President of the United States.