Maybe they see a tax on the high cost plans eventually filtering down to them, especially if they lack medical cost adjustments.
My former colleague at EPI, Elise Gould, pointed out in a paper that a plan could be high cost because it applies to a small shop (possibly unionized) with some old folks with expensive ailments. Obama's no-tax-under-$250K pledge screws up any health reform in profound ways, in light of the difficulties in financing it rationally (i.e., as part of general, progressive taxation) and of designing and administering the subsidy system. On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 1:16 PM, raghu <[email protected]> wrote: > Why would unions that purportedly serve working class interests oppose > a tax on executive health benefits? Are they stupid or simply greedy? > Do they even pretend to represent the broader working class or are > they only interested in maximizing the benefits of their own members? > > http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/nov2009/db20091123_720329.htm > -----------------------------------------snip > In chasing revenue to help pay for health-care reform, Democrats have > managed to rally two groups that tend to oppose each other—unions and > Big Business. The focus of their ire: a proposed 40% excise tax on > high-premium or so-called Cadillac health plans. > > The proposal targets health premiums above $8,500 for individuals or > $23,000 for families, with the tax beginning in 2013. The excise tax > would provide the government an estimated $149 billion by 2019, > according to the Congressional Budget Office. The complete $848 > billion reform bill is expected to lower the U.S. deficit by $130 > billion. A final bill remains subject to extensive wrangling in > Washington and could include a variation of the tax or none at all. > Democrats have a tough road ahead gathering enough votes in the Senate > to pass reform. > > > > > -raghu. > > > > -- > "I used to do drugs. I still do drugs. But I used to, too." - Mitch Hedberg > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
