“President Bush’s health plan, unveiled in his State of the Union address, is one more illustration of the folly of attempting heath reform piecemeal. Bush would end the current tax deduction for employer-provided health coverage, and substitute a personal deduction — $7,500 for an individual and $15,000 for a family. … The plan, if enacted, would do three things. First, it would induce many employers to drop coverage. Second, it would push more Americans to buy the individual plans being promoted by insurers, which are even more inefficient (and lucrative) than group plans. Third, since a tax deduction is worth more the richer you are, the plan would subsidize well-to-do Americans to buy insurance while leaving decent coverage far beyond the reach of less affluent Americans who make up the bulk of the uninsured.” [editor’s note: Once again, Kuttner identifies the problem correct, but offers the wrong solution. - SAT] (01/29/07)