Pelosi: Reducing Health Care Surcharge For Wealthy A Possibility

The 1-5.4% surcharge proposed by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for those making over $280,000 to help cover the costs of health care reform could be reduced, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during a press conference Wednesday.

The current version of health care reform that passed through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Tuesday is expected to draw half of it’s funding from revenue streams, notably the proposed surcharge, and the rest from surplus funds taken from other programs, such as $500 billion in savings from the Medicare program.

“I believe that all the costs of the health reform bill can come from squeezing more savings out of the system,” the Speaker said.

If successful in acquiring enough savings, Pelosi noted that reducing the surcharge was one possibility. Another would be maintaining the surcharge at the current cost and reallocating it towards paying off the U.S. deficit.