Unions Pressure Democrats on Health Tax

[The Straight Story]

Unions Pressure Democrats on Health Tax

WASHINGTON_Union leaders, among the most passionate backers of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, pressed Democratic senators Thursday to drop a tax on high-value insurance plans to pay for remaking the nation's system.As the Senate entered its 11th straight day of debate on the sweeping legislation, members of several labor unions denounced the proposed tax on so-called "Cadillac plans," arguing it wouldn't just hit CEOs but also middle-class Americans who passed on salary increases to negotiate better health benefits."I support health care reform but I can't afford this tax," Valerie Castle Stanley, an AT&T call center worker and member of the Communications Workers of America, said at a news conference outside the Capitol.

"For families like mine that are on a budget, the results will be devastating."At issue is a proposed 40 percent excise tax on insurance companies, keyed to premiums paid on health care plans costing more than $8,500 annually for individuals and $23,000 for families. The tax would raise some $150 billion over 10 years to help pay for the Democrats' nearly $1 trillion health care bill.

The legislation, which appears to be edging closer to passage, would revamp the U.S. health care system with new requirements on individuals and employers designed to extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.The insurance plan tax already was adjusted higher in response to union members' concerns, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a leader of those efforts, has said there could be further changes. But labor organizations including the AFL-CIO and the National Education Association are urging the Senate to drop the tax entirely and take the approach embraced by the House, which would raise income taxes on individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples making more than $1 million.Union leaders have brought hundreds of members to the Capitol this week to lobby lawmakers."We should tax the millionaires, not teachers and bus drivers," said Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association.

http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=147094&type=TopNews

[Shagbark Hickory]

1. It's going to be awfully hard to get elected withouth organized labor on your side.

Get ready for Sarah