Bush Pledges Affordable Health Insurance for Small Businesses

President Bush in his State of the Union address Tuesday night pledged to slow the rising cost of health care by making it easier for individuals and small businesses to buy insurance. In conjunction with this, the president proposed an expansion of health savings accounts. Specifically, Bush said:

We will strengthen health savings accounts by making sure individuals and small business employees can buy insurance with the same advantages that people working for big businesses now get. We will do more to make this coverage portable, so workers can switch jobs without having to worry about losing their health insurance.

Health plans that were as low in cost as large businesses and associations would be a tremendous help to small businesses, who are at a disadvantage in providing such benefits. One advocate added, "Large employers are taking a wait-and-see approach, but small employers are embracing them because they're pretty cost-effective," said attorney James Bristol, head of the employee benefits practice at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in Nashville."

The president's plan would require individuals to pay a larger share of their medical expenses but at the same time it would offset those larger costs with tax deductions. USA Today goes on to say:

His proposals drew praise and criticism. "American families are already struggling to pay for health care costs, and this proposal is a step backward because it will increase their costs, not lower them," said Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Md.

Joseph Antos of the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, said...high-deductible insurance, coupled with more information on the cost and quality of care, would make people better health care consumers. "This is a first step we must take if we expect to see people getting greater control over the health care they use," he said.

The full text of President Bush's speech can be accessed here.

Photo c/o Eric Draper, www.whitehouse.gov