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Thomas Sweetz: Even if saddled with student loans and other debt, start saving

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Oskar Sundqvist to see time on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s power play

<p>The Health Insurance Tax, or HIT, is a multibillion-dollar tax buried in the Affordable Care Act that is imposed on health insurance premiums, hurting working families, the poor, and both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.</p><p>According to former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the HIT could cost Pennsylvania between 2,555 and 4,724 jobs by 2023, and a decline in the state&#8217;s gross domestic product by up to $793 million over a decade. Worse, he estimates the HIT will raise a family&#8217;s premiums by $500 a year.</p><p>Our leaders must realize Pennsylvanians simply cannot afford to pay another $500 a year for health insurance.</p><p>Thankfully, legislation has been proposed in the U.S. House (H.R. 928) and Senate (S. 183) to repeal this tax. A majority of Pennsylvania&#8217;s representatives have co-sponsored the House bill, but Sen. Bob Casey hasn&#8217;t taken action in the Senate to repeal this crushing tax.</p><p>I urge Sen. Casey to stand with middle-class, working families and repeal this destructive tax.</p><p><strong>Kim DeMatteo-MacDonald</strong></p><p>Olyphant</p><style>
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Letter to the Editor: Sen. Bob Casey called upon to oppose ‘crushing tax’ on health insurance