Bush to Propose New Tax Breaks for Medical Expenses

WASHINGTON -- President Bush will propose that Americans be allowed to take tax deductions on more of their out-of pocket medical expenses, The Washington Post reported Wednesday citing congressional and other sources familiar with the administration's thinking.

The new tax breaks for personal health spending, to be included in the 2007 budget Bush will release in less than two weeks, are designed to help the uninsured and to allow people with insurance to write off a greater portion of the money they spend on co-payments, deductibles and care that is not covered. Under current tax rules, people can deduct medical expenses only if they exceed 7.5 percent of their adjusted gross income.

The president also plans to call for an expansion of health savings accounts, in which people who buy bare-bones insurance policies are allowed to put money into tax-free accounts for their medical expenses.

In addition, Bush intends to propose changes to allow people to keep their insurance, without extra cost, if they change jobs or decide to start a business, building on a decade-old law that was designed to make health coverage more "portable."

White House officials would not confirm the decision to allow tax breaks on consumer health spending, and it remains unclear how large a deduction the president envisions, the paper reported.

-- NYSSCPA.org News Staff

Posted on 1/25/06