For Immediate Release Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Contact: Daniel Barlow (802) 355-7461 daniel@blhct.org
National Business Group Opposes Trump Payroll Tax Scheme
“This is nothing more than a backdoor attack on Medicare and the social safety net.”
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Business Leaders for Health Care Transformation Chairman Richard Master issued the following statement Tuesday in response to President Trump’s executive order cutting an essential funding source for the popular Medicare program:
“President Trump has the worst health care record in the history of American politics and he has now decided to use a global pandemic as an excuse to dismantle a successful health care program that provides health coverage to 64 million people.
Trump's executive orders suspending the payroll tax is not only an election year stunt, it is an attempt to dismantle the government's premiere health care program. Those payroll taxes go directly to funding Medicare and Social Security. Trump even indicated that, if re-elected, he wants to make these cuts permanent.
As a business owner who employs hundreds of people, I know firsthand that Trump’s proposals and actions have made it more difficult to contain the COVID-19 virus and reopen the economy. The country looks to the White House for leadership and finds gimmicks and cheap slogans.
During a global pandemic that has killed more than 160,000 Americans and resulted in tens of millions of workers losing their health insurance - we should be expanding Medicare, not declaring war on it.
I urge the President to drop his foolish plan to destroy Medicare and instead investigate and support policies that would provide universal health care coverage to all Americans regardless of income or employment status.”
Richard Master is the founder and CEO of MCS Industries, Inc., North America’s leading supplier of picture frames and decorative mirrors, and the founder and chairman of Business Leaders for Health Care Transformation.
Business Leaders for Health Care Transformation is a coalition of business leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and concerned citizens who believe that the employer-based health insurance system is fundamentally broken and hinders American competitiveness. The organization has more than 3,200 members across the country. To learn more, visit www.blhct.org