Election '08: What's Really at Stake? - Health Care - McCain Would Tax Workers’ Health Benefits as

Of concern to union members with paid health benefits, John McCain is proposing that workers start paying income tax on the value of their health benefits, a plan that some experts say would lead companies to dump their employee coverage.

Barack Obama, whose proposals are similar to CWA's call for affordable, universal health care, would not tax employer-paid benefits.

If McCain's tax were in place, "I predict that most companies would stop paying for health care in three to four years," Robert Laszewski, a consultant who works with corporate benefits managers, told Fortune Magazine.

"If you think it's tough now to hold onto employer-paid health care and keep the out-of-pocket costs from spiraling out of control, just imagine contract bargaining in the future if McCain gets his way," CWA President Larry Cohen said. "The only federal policy we've ever had to promote widespread health coverage was the decision by Congress during World War II to make benefits tax free to encourage employers to offer them in lieu of higher wages. Now McCain proposes taking that away."

McCain's plan would give workers and families a tax credit of up to $5,000 for a family to help buy a policy.  However, it would not require insurance companies to cover people with existing health problems, who often are denied medical insurance.