Tax Credit Studied as Aid to Buying Health Insurance

The White House is considering a variety of health-care proposals, including possible tax credits to help people buy health insurance, White House Chief of Staff Samuel K. Skinner said Sunday.

But Skinner said that, although “a number of options are on the table,” no decision has been made on which proposals to include in the President’s upcoming budget requests to Congress.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Bush intends to propose the tax credits and a trim in Medicare benefits for the most affluent.

“It’s fair to say that a lot of what we see in the newspaper represents ideas that have been put forth by people,” Skinner said in a TV interview.

Bush is expected to outline proposals to ease health-care costs as well as his strategy to revive the economy during his State of the Union address Jan. 28 and provide additional details when he presents his proposed fiscal 1993 budget a few days later.