Posted on 10/26/2009 12:58:15 PM PDT by jazusamo
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has made several significant concessions to organized labor in the healthcare reform bill he is preparing for the Senate floor, according to a source familiar with the legislation.
Reid has increased the threshold of high-cost insurance plans that would be subject to taxation to pay for healthcare reform.
Legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee would impose a 40 percent excise tax on family plans costing more than $21,000, a provision estimated to raise $201 billion for healthcare reform. Under heavy pressure from unions, Reid has increased the threshold so that only family plans costing $23,000 or more would be taxed, said a source familiar with the bill.
The taxable threshold would increase each year by the rate of the Consumer Price Index plus one percent.
Union officials are happy that Reid has listened to their concerns, even though they would like to see the controversial tax scrapped altogether.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka praised Reid on Monday for trying to lessen the impact of the insurance plan tax on working families.
"Sen. Reid is working hard to lessen the impact of this tax and we appreciate his hard work on this," Trumka said during a conference call with reporters.
The Senate bill that Reid has crafted would also include a national government-run insurance plan and allow individual states to opt out of the program.
Trumka said his union would not support an “opt in/opt out” compromise on the public option but he said it was a step in the right direction.
“It’s on its way but it’s not there yet,” he said.
The legislation Reid is crafting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) would also increase the penalty on employers who fail to provide healthcare insurance for employees.
A spokeswoman for Reid did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
ya we be paying for union insurances.
I don't understand the "logic" (don't expect to understand that, LOL) or the strategy in having this target only family plans. Does anyone understand that? Seems to me an individual plan costing more than $23,000 is more of a cadillac plan than a family plan costing that.
My union dues finally paying dividends! Since my dues dollars are used to elect crooks I may as well get my cut.
I think the figure was $8,000 for individual plans.
The problem I see with all of this, is that, once the insurers are required to include everyone, no limit on pre-existing conditions, no limits on benefits... then EVERYONE’S premiums will end up being over the stated thresholds, and everyone will be taxed on this. (Premiums will go up due to mandates, taxes will go up due to premiums increasing.) Tell me if this is wrong....
So, that means most of us won’t have to pay taxes on OUR health insurance???
Gee. What a surprise.
So where is the $$ going to come from to replace the tax revenue lost by this change?
I assume from our pockets.
I don’t know if there are any plans costing an individual $23,000 a year, I would consider that a Rolls Royce plan. lol
I think there are probably lower figures covering individuals and couples that weren’t included in this article.
That’s probably true right now but look out if premiums start going out of sight should this pass.
which will send the CBO score zooming well above One Trillion.
It’s like herding cats, you idiots!
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)—U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D, Nev.), said Monday that health-care legislation that comes before the Senate will have a public health insurance option of which states can “opt out,” setting up a battle to find the needed votes for the measure.
Reid told reporters that, under the legislation, states would have until 2014 to choose not to carry the public plan. The move casts doubt over whether Reid will be able to attract any Republican support for the bill and whether it will have 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster.
Reid cast aside questions of whether he will have 60 votes for the measure.
“I believe we clearly will have the support of the [Democratic caucus] to move to the bill,” Reid said.
Reid has led talks between he, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, (D, Mont.), Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D, Ct.), and White House officials.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, (R, Maine), who is considered a key swing vote on the bill, has signaled that she would not support a public option with a state “opt-out” provision, though she supported a health-care bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee. The Finance Committee bill didn’t include a public health insurance option.
Reid said that he hopes Snowe “will come back.”
“I’m very disappointed that this one issue, the public option, has frightened her,” Reid said.
In a statement, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama is “pleased” that the bill will include a public option.
“Thanks to their efforts, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to solving this decades-old problem,” Gibbs said. “And while much work remains, the President is pleased ... at the progress that Congress has made.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R, Ky.), in a statement Monday, criticized that yet-unseen bill, saying that the “core of the proposal is a bill that the American public clearly does not like, and doesn’t support.”
Thanks for posting, let’s hope it’s DOA.
I think you hit the nail on the head!!!!
RATS like Reid knows how to buy votes.
So does this mean Reid is also Trumka’s b****?
No question about it and Dingy Harry needs union votes in his upcoming NV defeat! :)
Lost my full time IT job in July. At least I am making an effort securing a PT job, doing grunt work at age 51. I consider myself lucky to to be in good shape and able to do this kind of work. I don't get the insurance until I accumalate 250 hours worked. At 12 hours a week it could take time. If I make the cut after Christmas.
I was a member for 4 years, but that doesn't count. I lucked out not having to pay the 500 dollar initation fee. Paid it 12 years ago.
...40 percent excise tax on family plans costing more than $21,000...
If I were in this price bracket, I’d just reduce it to 20k and pay the difference out of my pocket.
The rich didn’t get rich by being stupid (congress exception)
That's what has killed bipartisanship. Snowe is pretty liberal for a republican, but even she had to compromise on multiple issues in order to bring herself to vote for the bill in the committee. She met them more than halfway.
But now, Reid wants more, and resorts to name-calling. She only agreed because they got rid of the public option, and now he puts it back. If she goes for it, he'll add more back. and he'll keep calling republicans names. And when he loses 5 of his own votes, he'll still blame republicans.
But it sounds like he missed his 3:15pm deadline. So we are still talking about what is in a bill that doesn't exist, and that has never been discussed in a committee, or had a single minute of debate in the house or the senate.
Legislation passed by the Senate Finance Committee would impose a 40 percent excise tax on family plans costing more than $21,000, a provision estimated to raise $201 billion for healthcare reform. Under heavy pressure from unions, Reid has increased the threshold so that only family plans costing $23,000 or more would be taxed, said a source familiar with the bill.
AFL CIO members do not want ANY taxes on their health plans. What is Trumka thinking. 8,000 limit on self only coverage is not very high.
:’)
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