Paul Introduces Bill to Help Low-Income Parents PDF Print E-mail
FOR RELEASE: June 30, 2000

Paul Introduces Bill to Help Low-Income Parents "Family Health Tax Cut Act" Eases Burden of Children's Medical Costs

Washington, D.C. - On Thursday, Congressman Ron Paul introduced new legislation aimed at helping Americans provide for their children's health care costs. The "Family Health Tax Cut Act" provides parents with a tax credit of up to $500 for the health care expenses of dependent children. If the child has a disability, terminal disease, cancer, or any other condition requiring specialized care, parents would receive a tax credit up to $3,000 a year. Paul said the legislation would be of great benefit to all working families, especially those without health insurance.
"The tax credits provided in this bill will be especially helpful to those Americans whose employers cannot afford to provide health insurance for employees" said Paul. "These workers must struggle to pay for the medical bills of their families. This burden is especially heavy on parents whose children have a medical condition, such as cancer or a physical disability, which requires long-term or specialized health care."
Paul, an OB-GYN who has delivered more than four thousand babies during his career, said he knows first-hand the importance of adequate health care for children. The inability of many working Americans to provide health care for their children is rooted in Congress' failure to allow individuals the same deduction for health care costs that it grants to businesses.
Paul said, "Sometimes parents are forced to delay seeking care for their children until minor health concerns that could have been easily treated become serious problems requiring expensive treatment! If these parents had access to the type of tax credits provided in the 'Family Health Tax Cut Act', they would be able to provide care for their children. Our nation's already overcrowded emergency room facilities would be relieved of the burden of having to provide routine care for people who currently cannot afford any other alternative."
According to research on the effects of the "Family Health Tax Cut Act", benefits of the tax credits would be enjoyed by joint filers with incomes slightly above $18,000 a year, or single income filers with incomes slightly above $15,000 per year. Paul said it is clear this bill will be of the most benefit to low-income Americans who currently are forced to balance high taxes with the needs of their children.
"Under my bill, a struggling single mother with an asthmatic child would at last be able to provide for her child's needs, while a working-class family would not have to worry about how they will pay the bills if one of their children requires lengthy hospitalization," said Paul. "This Congress has a moral responsibility to provide low-income parents tax relief in order to help them better meet their children's medical expenses. I urge my colleagues to support the pro-family, pro-health care tax cuts contained in the 'Family Health Tax Cut Act'."