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Senate Mulls 'Lifestyle Tax' on Soft Drinks to Pay for Healthcare Reform
Imposing a "lifestyle tax" on sugary, fattening soft drinks and alcohol are among the revenue-generating ideas under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee as a way to pay for healthcare reform.
"Reforming the system will likely require an upfront investment, but I'm confident it will pay dividends in the future for our health, our economic competitiveness, and our federal budget," says Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT. "The bottom line is that we can't afford not to act. Without healthcare reform, healthcare spending will reach $4.4 trillion by 2018. These policies lay out a wide variety of options for making that investment."
The proposals unveiled Monday are the final set of policy options being considered before the Finance Committee begins to craft a bill in June. Previously, the committee has discussed how to reduce costs in the healthcare delivery system, while improving quality and expanding access.
The latest round of proposals focus on savings achieved from within the healthcare system, reevaluating health tax subsidies, and changing non?health tax provisions.
The Finance Committee will take up the suggestions at a hearing on Wednesday.
The lifestyle tax would slap an excise tax on soft drinks sweetened with sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or other sweeteners that "contribute to obesity which drives up healthcare costs within the system," the committee proposal states, adding that the tax would "expand on what some states have already done." The tax would not apply to artificially sweetened beverages.
Alcohol excise taxes would increase from $13.50 per proof gallon to $16 per proof gallon. A press release announcing the proposals did not include estimates for how much money the taxes would generate.
John Commins is an editor with HealthLeaders Media. He can be reached at jcommins@healthleadersmedia.com.
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Kathryn Davis (5/19/2009 at 1:38 PM)
Joni, those are my thoughts too. We are on a slippery slope of government controlling more and more of our daily lives. Where will we stop? As we know, a focus on prevention is the place health savings needs to start, but not as a reaction to government.
Joni Leis (5/19/2009 at 10:17 AM)
How about imposing taxes on the companies that make these sugary, fattening soft drinks and the stores that sell them? The public doesn't always have a choice in what is available to them to buy. Are we also going to impose a tax for people who don't exercise daily? How about people who are outside of the recommended weight for their height? Can we tax people who abuse drugs? Tax those that abuse the "system" (Medicare, Medicaid, Financial Assistance Programs, etc)? How about a tax for politicians that accept 'perks'?