Apparently Senator Cruz has been bragging that he’s not on the federal dole for health insurance as part of his Senate benefits package. Posturing some sort of moral and fiscal high ground that gives him the right to rail against the ACA health insurance taxpayer paid subsidies because health insurance for his family doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime. Just one little wrinkle in that “doesn’t cost the taxpayers a dime” claim and a whole lot of wrinkles in his honesty. Honesty first:
“Ted is on my health care plan,” Heidi Nelson Cruz, a Houston-based managing director for Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, told the newspaper.
A spokeswoman for the Texas senator confirmed the coverage to the Times, which was worth at least $20,000 a year, according to Goldman.
…
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) had tried to draw that information out of Cruz during his 21-hour floor speech on defunding Obamacare back in September. When Durbin asked him to explain whether his family was covered by the congressional health plan, the Texas senator’s response was vague.
Not sure how that “I get my $20,000 a year health insurance from Goldman Sachs” will go down with his teabaggers, but as he didn’t want to disclose that fact, his guess is the answer is not well.
But let’s consider what his minimum and hidden taxpayer subsidy is for his family’s diamond studded, platinum health insurance. Assume that the $20,000 benefit figure doesn’t include Goldman Sachs’ employer break on payroll taxes and Heidi’s salary is more than $115,500 and less than $300,000.
The employer and employee Medicare tax break on $20,000 is only $580/year. Not so much but multiplied by the millions of Americans that get their tax free employer health insurance, it adds up, and partly explains why the Medicare Part A trust fund isn’t as robust as the original model would have projected.
The larger taxpayer subsidy for Cruz’s health insurance is the income taxes he avoids. Their taxable income over $223,050 (and less than $398,350) is in the 33% tax bracket. $20,000 x 33% = $6,600.
Cruz family minimum total health insurance tax subsidy = $7,190.
