Political Twist: AFL-CIO Opposes Dem Health Benefits Tax
A traditional supporter of left-leaning politicians opposes a Democratic proposal to tax employee health care benefits in order to help pay the tab for the estimated up to $1 trillion price tag affixed to various national health care reform proposals.
Officials for the A.F.L.-C.I.O. recently announced their organization’s opposition to Senate Democrats’ proposed tax on so-called “Cadillac” health insurance plans and are lobbying moderate Democrats to remove the proposed tax from any health care reform measures.
Some Democrats in the U.S. Senate have proposed levying an excise tax on group health insurance plans paying at least $23,000 in annual premiums for families and $8,500 for individuals. The tax would raise an estimated $149 billion over 10 years and help control spending by encouraging job providers to switch to less expensive group health care plans offering decreased levels of coverages, according to its supporters.
But the A.F.L.-C.I.O. opposes the measure, saying it endangers existing health care benefits and only would encourage employers to cease offering health care benefits. Instead, union officials prefer raising taxes on a popular target among liberals – wealthy, successful American families.
Many pro-business and pro-organized labor organizations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the A.F.L.-C.I.O., agree the proposed health benefits tax ultimately would do more harm than good.
Pro-business groups say it would place an additional burden on job providers while union officials contend it would increase costs for workers. Although their reasons differ, both sides agree taxing health care benefits is a bad idea.
Many Senate Republicans are preparing amendments to block the proposed health care benefits tax, and the A.F.L.-C.I.O. is running local television ads in various U.S. Senate districts to drum up opposition to the tax plan. The ads have various blue collar workers making statements supporting health care reform but opposing any taxation of health care benefits. The ads primarily target moderate Democrats, whose support is critical to passing any health care reform measure.
The television ads are part of a $1.5 million campaign aimed at U.S. Senators in Indiana, Delaware and Virginia. The ads first aired during various Sunday morning political talk shows in Washington D.C. and again Sunday evening on the popular CBS program, “60 Minutes.”
While the taxation issue has proved polarizing, other divisive proposals posing problems for potential health care reform measures include whether or not illegal aliens will have access to health care programs and tax dollars intended for U.S. citizens and whether or not abortion will be at least partly covered under various circumstances. Federal law currently prohibits tax dollars being used to pay for abortion procedures, and some Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate adamantly oppose inclusion of public funding for abortion procedures in any federal health care reform efforts.
Abortion Measure Might Derail House Health Care Reform Effort
Nov. 9, 2009 – Members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday narrowly approved a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health care system that some members of the U.S. Senate say won’t make it through the upper chamber.
The House of Representatives late Saturday night voted 220-215 to approve the about $1 trillion measure, which would mandate U.S. citizens purchase health insurance, force most job providers to provide health insurance benefits, require private insurers to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions and initially provided federal funding for abortion services, among other changes. The controversial provision would have allowed women receiving federal subsidies to purchase health insurance that included abortion procedure funding.
But facing a great deal of criticism from constituents, 64 House Democrats voted in favor of an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) preventing women from using federal financial support to purchase health insurance offering coverage for abortion services. The amendment also prevents any potential federal health care plan from offering abortion services and was approved by a 240-194 vote.
Stupak’s amendment has caused a rift among Capitol Hill Democrats, some of who support federal funding of abortions while others remain opposed. Several abortion rights groups are lobbying for abortion services coverage, and the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus today sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling on abortion services to be included among health care reforms.
“The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled,” the letter reads. “We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.”
A copy of the letter to Pelosi was made available on Rep. Diana DeGetter’s (D-Colorado) Congressional Web page. The coalition claims to have at least 40 signatures from other members of Congress supporting the pro-abortion measure and opposing the efforts of their fellow Democrats.
While the measure currently includes the Stupak Amendment, it also would create an insurance exchange for citizens and job providers to purchase more affordable health care, including a government-run plan. The measure also would create nonprofit “cooperatives” offering health care coverage sold through insurance exchanges. People in “high-risk” categories who otherwise cannot get health insurance protection would be cared for through high-risk pools offering coverage until the health insurance exchanges can be created.
The plan also would expand Medicaid coverage, allow young adults to continue coverage through their parents’ health insurance plans through age 26 and would levy a 2.5 percent tax on people who do not purchase health insurance coverage.
Because the plan as approved by the House of Representatives already has become highly controversial, several members of the U.S. Senate have said it won’t be approved. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut – a former Democrat who continues to sit with the Democratic Caucus and was appointed Democrat John Kerry’s running mate during the 2004 presidential election – said he might filibuster the measure. Because Democrats hold 59 seats in the U.S. Senate, it would be impossible to stop a filibuster initiated by Lieberman unless at least one Republican voted to end it along with every other Senate Democrat.