Business and the working rich pay most of the dollar cost of our nation s health care as medical insurance premiums and employment-related taxes. The more someone earns the more that person pays in Medicare taxes. Employees pay 1.45 percent of their earnings as a Medicare tax. Employers pay an equal amount to match what employees pay. The self-employed pay 2.9 percent of their earned income.
Employers usually pay most of the insurance premiums.
Some medical plans pay a portion of medicine costs, but many plans do not. Much of what the governments pay toward health care comes from general taxes, which is paid mostly by business and high-income individuals. In fact, our federal income tax system imposes a much heavier tax on business and the working rich. The 39.6 percent tax bracket resulted from a 10 percent surtax on the rich when the top tax rate was 36 percent. In addition to higher tax rates, many tax deductions and credits are not available to high-income taxpayers.