Under Proposed Plan, Millions of Middle Class Families in Wisconsin Would Also Face Tax Increase

Change to Win, SEIU, HCAN Launch Major Grassroots Initiative to Educate Working Families on Findings of Center for American Progress Action Fund Report

MADISON, WI - A new report released today by the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF) shows that Senator John McCain's proposed health care plan would threaten the employer-based health benefits of 3.3 million people in Wisconsin and that as many as 415,000 people in the state could lose their health coverage. These findings, confirmed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), were compounded by the fact that the McCain health care plan would amount to a tax increase for middle class families in Wisconsin, with the average family paying almost $1,500 more in taxes by 2013.

The CAPAF study is being released this week as part of a coordinated effort by Change to Win, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), One Wisconsin Now, Citizen Action Wisconsin, and Health Care for America Now (HCAN) to educate voters in Wisconsin about the impact of the McCain health care plan on millions of families already struggling under the combined impact of the banking and health care crises.

McCain's health care plan would de-regulate the health insurance industry, just like previous legislation he supported de-regulated the financial services industry," said James Kvaal, Senior Fellow at CAPAF. "This plan would force Wisconsin families into a de-regulated individual market stripped of consumer protections, where they would be at the mercy of the insurance companies and all their leverage."

In Wisconsin, Sen. McCain's plan would:

* Threaten the coverage of 3.3 million people in Wisconsin who receive health benefits through work. The Economic Policy Institute projects 415,000 could lose their coverage. McCain's plan eliminates the employer health care tax benefits that enable many businesses, especially small businesses, to provide group insurance to their employees.
* Put at special risk coverage for the 2 million non-elderly people in Wisconsin struggling with diseases like cancer and diabetes who are now covered through their jobs. Under McCain's plan, insurance companies would be free to "cherry pick" only those individu_als for coverage who do not have costly health conditions and avoid state regulations that keep health care accessible and affordable.
* Raise taxes on the health insurance benefits paid by millions of Wisconsin families. A typ_ical Wisconsin family could pay almost $1,500 more in taxes by 2013 if McCain imposes both income and payroll taxes on their health coverage.

In conjunction with the reports, Change to Win and SEIU are intensifying their outreach to voters and working families across the state of Wisconsin. Change to Win and SEIU will be contacting workers in person, by mail, and over the phone over the next few weeks to make sure working families understand how the McCain health plan will raise their taxes and jeopardize their existing health benefits.

"I'm a health care worker and I can hardly afford my health insurance costs," said Connie Langoehr, member of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (WFNHP) Local 5001, which is affiliated with AFT Healthcare, the national healthcare division of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). "McCain's new scheme is going to tax my health care benefits and strip away what little regulation there is. The free market doesn't work for the economy, and it certainly doesn't work for health care."

Nationally, Change to Win has been leading a broad-based effort to keep working families informed about the different health care proposals through direct mail to 450,000 union members in 14 battleground states; telephone calls to 180,000 workers in 14 states; and door-to-door canvassing at the homes of union members across the country.

Separately, SEIU members have knocked on nearly 340,000 doors, made nearly 65,000 phone calls, and registered more than 45,000 new voters.

"Sen. McCain's health care plan will create a new tax on working families by making employer-provided health benefits part of taxable income," said Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President David Newby. "McCain's plan undermines employer-based health care, leaving workers to fight big insurance companies on their own. Under his plan many workers with pre-existing conditions won't be able to get health care at all."

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