Working People Praise House Repeal of Tax Targeting Worker Health Care Plans
The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly July 17 to repeal the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost employer-based health insurance that was meant to help pay for the Affordable Care Act. Unions had opposed the tax and called for its repeal since before the Obama care bill was passed in 2010.
The Washington Post reported, “The 419-to-6 vote is a first step toward achieving a long-sought goal.of employers, labor unions and health insurers who have been pushing for full repeal of the tax for several years. Repealing the unpopular tax is one of the few significant measures related to the landmark health law that has won overwhelming support from lawmakers of both parties. Democrats, many of whom grudgingly supported the cost containment effort as part of the landmark health-care law nine years ago, argued … that it would be a de facto tax on working families.”
“Delayed repeatedly by Congress, the tax would impose a 40 percent excise tax beginning in 2022 on employer-provided health benefits that exceed $11,200 for an individual and $30,100 for a family,” the Washington Post reported. “The idea was to reduce soaring health-care costs by discouraging employers from offering such generous plans, as well as to pay for the landmark law passed by a Democratic Congress in 2010.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “Today, we’ll honor our promise to the hard-working men and women of labor as we lift the Cadillac tax protecting health benefits that workers have negotiated.”
In a statement July 17, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, “Today marks an important step toward eliminating a painful tax that would take money out of the pockets of hardworking men and women while hollowing out the quality health care plans they’ve earned. This tax was ill-conceived from the beginning, putting an undue burden on 181 million American workers who earn their health benefits on the job. It’s clear that this tax was driving employers to reduce the health care benefits they provide, making medical care less affordable and creating serious access barriers for millions of workers.”
Two days before the House vote, the Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), representing upwards of 300,000 federal workers in 28 unions from all across the federal government, urged members of Congress to approve H.R. 748, the “Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act” – the bipartisan pro-worker legislation that permanently repeals the 40 percent tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health care benefits.
The FWA noted that. “Since the 40 percent excise tax was enacted in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA) , out-of-pocket health care costs have continued to increase significantly faster than workers’ wages. At the bargaining table, workers in all sectors of the economy are accepting lower or no pay increases, and cuts to other important benefits in exchange for an employer- provided that is both affordable and meets the health needs of their families. If this tax is not repealed, tens of millions of workers and retirees will see the gains from these tradeoffs fall by the wayside, while the underlying issues driving up health care costs will go unaddressed.”
The FWA noted that research by the Congressional Budget Office showed the cost of the tax would “be passed onto workers in the form of reduced benefits, loss of coverage options, and/or increased taxes. Even though the excise tax has not taken effect yet, it has already reduced the benefits and quality of employer-sponsored health insurance benefits.”
According to the Washington Post,”The Senate has a similar bill with bipartisan support, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet said whether he will bring it up for a vote. McConnell has been reluctant to take up health-care legislation, Senate aides said, because Democrats probably would use the opportunity to criticize Republicans’ and the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.”
“It’s shameful that health care is still out of reach for so many,” said the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka. The Senate should follow suit in passing this bill, and the president should support working families by signing it. Then we can continue the march toward an America where health care is a right for every person.:
OFFICE: 2102 Almaden Rd., Ste. 105, San Jose, CA 95125
MEETS: Office, 2nd Thurs., 6:30 PM
PH: (408) 440-8716 FAX: (408) 448-4618
© San Jose Auto Mechanics, Local Lodge No. 1101 IAMAW