Sebelius: Taxing rich for health 'legit'

WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- An income surtax on the wealthiest Americans is a "legitimate way" to pay for healthcare reforms the U.S. secretary of health and human services says.

Kathleen Sebelius, appearing Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said a U.S. House proposal to levy a 1 percent income tax surcharge on households making more than $350,000 per year, and a higher tax hit for those making more than $1 million, is a "legitimate way to go forward" to pay for Democratic efforts to make healthcare affordable.

Even so, she asserted, upper-income Americans shouldn't be made to shoulder "most of the burden."

"Half the money in all the plans is already in the system," she said. "There are a variety of proposals to raise revenue. The House has one that's a very legitimate proposal. The Senate is working on others."

Sebelius contended that a Congressional Budget Office report issued Friday claiming the House version of the healthcare reform bill will add to the national deficit doesn't take into account the cost savings that will achieved by the reforms.

"(President Barack Obama is) very committed to this, and I think it will be part of the package going forward," she said.