So you want to make health care affordable?

So everyone wants health care to be more affordable, right? Don't want to necessarily put the government in charge of it though? Well here's one suggestion that wouldn't require raising any one's taxes, wouldn't create a new government agency to oversee anything, wouldn't cost tax payers a single dollar, etc...

Under the current tax laws, multiply your income by 7.5%, that is the amount of money that is excluded from what you can claim for medical expenses as a deduction on your taxes. What does that mean? For example, if you have $25,000 in income, the first $1875 you spend on medical, be it premiums, co-pays, bills, etc, can not be used as a tax deduction. If you have $50,000 in income, the first $3750 in medical expenses can't help you on your taxes.

In my experience in a tax preparation office, there are very few, as in a handful of people for every 100, that actually surpass that 7.5% floor and get any kind of tax benefit from all the money they spend on their own health care.

Why not make medical expenses tax deductable, or at least lower the percentage that is excluded? This would be the easiest way to make health care more affordable for every single person.

It would also give people incentive to pay their medical bills. Maybe if more people would or "could" pay their medical bills, those who do pay would see a benefit, such as lower bills. (think about the impact shoplifting has on prices of goods. the more loss to the store, the more the customers have to pay to offset the loss.)

That's my thought on the subject... What do you think?