Washington, D.C.- Representative Ron Paul wrote his Congressional colleagues today, asking them to support two health care measures he introduced earlier this year. Paul authored the “Cancer and Terminal Illness Patient Health Care Act” (H.R. 4265) and the “Family Health Tax Cut Act” (H.R. 4799) to provide tax relief to families struggling to pay their medical bills. Dr. Paul, who has been a practicing physician for decades, designed the legislation to provide individuals with needed financial resources to combat the devastation caused by cancer, AIDS, and other grave illnesses.

The “Cancer and Terminal Illness Patient Health Care Act” would exempt anyone diagnosed with a terminal illness, or any form of cancer, from the employee portion of payroll taxes. The exemption would apply for the duration of the illness, or while the person continued to have significant medical bills resulting from the illness. The individual’s eligibility to collect benefits in the future would not be adversely affected, so he or she would not be penalized if they survive the illness.

“I introduced this legislation to allow terminally ill Americans to keep more of their own resources to pay their medical bills,” Paul stated. “As a physician who has seen many seriously ill patients over the decades, I know that cancer or a terminal disease can place a tremendous financial strain on patients and their loved ones. Most health care proposals would force taxpayers to send even more of their paychecks to Washington, where politicians and bureaucrats decide what kind of medical treatment will be allowed for various diseases. My legislation takes a different approach: it allows people with terminal illnesses to keep more of their own money so they can pay for their own chosen treatments. It is immoral for the federal government to continue collecting payroll taxes from individuals who may never live to see the retirement funded by those taxes.”

Similarly, the “Family Health Tax Cut Act” reduces taxes for families struggling to pay for their children’s medical care. The Act provides parents with a tax credit of up to $500 for the health care expenses of dependent children. Also, parents caring for a child with a disability, cancer, terminal disease, or any other health condition requiring specialized care would be allowed a tax credit of up to $3,000.

“Many hard-working parents cannot afford health care for their children because Congress won’t permit individuals the same deduction for medical expenses that it grants to businesses,” Paul said. “The tax credits contained in my bill will be especially helpful to those parents whose employers cannot afford to provide them with health insurance. These parents struggle to pay for the medical bills of their families, especially if their child has a serious condition that requires specialized or long-term treatment. Less affluent parents should pay less taxes so that they keep more of their own resources to provide care for their children.”

“True health care reform will not be accomplished by sending more of our tax dollars to Washington and giving more control to health regulators,” Paul concluded. “I plan to continue my fight in Congress to create true reform that keeps resources and control in the hands of patients and doctors.”

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