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  3. Now the politics of US health reform are in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tid

Now the politics of US health reform are in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tid

admin2011-05-16  65
问题     Now the politics of US health reform are in a mess but the odds on a bill passing in the end are improving. It will not be a tidy thing, but if it moves the country close to universal health insurance the administration will call it a success.
    At this moment, that point of view may seem too optimistic. Last Friday, the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives had hoped to produce a finished bill. But they failed, because the party’ s fiscal conservatives demanded further savings. House Democrats are also divided on revenue-raising measures.
    The Senate is dealing with the same problems: how to contain the cost of expanded insurance coverage, and how to pay for what remains, so that the reform adds nothing to the budget deficit over the course of 10 years.
    Where does the money come from remains the crucial problem. Apparently, the answer is straightforward: tax employer-provided health benefits. At present, an employer in the U. S. is free from paying tax if he pays the health insurance while an individual purchaser has to buy it with after-tax dollars. This anomaly costs nearly $ 250bn a year in revenue—enough to pay for universal coverage, and then some. Yet many Democrats in both the House and the Senate oppose to ending it. Will there be a breakthrough in terms of that aspect?
    However, to get employers out of health insurance should be an aim, not something to be feared. Many US workers have complained that if they lose their job, their health insurance will go with it and tying insurance to employment will undoubtedly worsen the insecurity.
    What about high-risk workers who are thrown on to the individual market? If the tax break were abolished as part of a larger reform which obliges insurers to offer affordable coverage to all people regardless of pre-existing conditions, it will not be a problem. It’ s true this change needs to increase tax, and many people in Congress are reluctant to contemplate in any form. But some kind of increase is inescapable. This one makes more sense than most.
    The president should say so. His Republican opponent John McCain called for this change during the election campaign and Mr Obama and other Democrats assailed the idea. So what? Mr. Obama has changed his ideas on other aspects of health reform. For example, it seems that he now prefer an individual mandate to buy insurance. Let us see a similar flexibility on taxing employer-provided insurance.
In the author’ s opinion, which of the following is "revenue-raising measures"?
选项 A、Tax employer-provided health benefits.
B、Tax individual-purchased health insurance.
C、Ending taxing employer-provided health benefits.
D、Ending taxing individual-purchased health insurance.
答案A
解析 由第四段第二句“Apparently，the answer is straightforward：tax employer-provided health benefits．(从表面上看，答案一目了然：对雇主提供的医疗保险征税。)”可知，作者认为“对雇主提供的医疗保险征税”是提高财政收入的一个办法。由第四段第四句中的“anomaly(反常)”可知，作者并不赞同对个人购买医疗保险征税，所以选项B不正确。选项C和D都不是提高财政收入的办法。所以，本题选择A。
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