Updated: Labor Leaders Describe Excise-Tax Deal

[ProSense]

Updated: Labor Leaders Describe Excise-Tax Deal

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Facing intense pressure from organized labor, the Obama administration has agreed to major changes in the proposed tax on high-priced employer-sponsored health benefits. One change, according to labor leaders involved in the negotiations, is that workers covered by collective bargaining agreements as well as state and local employees will be exempted from the tax until 2018.

“We tried to figure out how to have a health pland that was accessible and affordable and that made a difference for working families in this country,” said Anna Burger, chairwoman of the Change to Win labor coalition. The new compromises, she added, help to “make sure that workers who have good health care will be able to continue having good health care” without having their costs or taxes raised.

Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, also provided additional details in a conference call with reporters this afternoon:

The threshold for the tax would be $24,000 for families and $8,900 for individuals. The Senate bill called for a threshold of $23,000 for families and $8,500 for individuals.


The threshold would be increased each year by the amount of the rise in the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent — that’s the same rate of indexation called for in the Senate bill. The formula will be adjusted for inflation from 2010 to 2013. The initial inflation threshold period will be adjusted upward if inflation increases above current assumptions.

For high risk professions, the threshold would increase to $27,000.

There would also be adjustments creating higher thresholds for employee groups whose health premiums are higher because the groups contain a disproportionate percentage of older workers and women. Those two groups tends to have higher health premiums than other workers. There would also be adjustments for those living in high-cost states.

As of 2015, dental and vision costs would not be counted toward the threshold.

Collective bargaining plans were to have been excluded from the exchange. Starting in 2017, collective bargaining agreements at all levels will be able to go into the exchanges.

<...>

“This is good for all working Americans, not just union people,” said Mr. Trumka of the proposed changes. “This makes this bill more fair for them. The labor movement has been fighting for health reform for 60 years. We’re not about to let the naysayers stop us from getting there.”

The president and his entire staff has worked with us on this,” he added. “He’s proven to be a friend of working people on this. I believe in the election of 2010 and 2012, we will be able to motivate not just our members but working people, because this bill will bring health care to working people and bring costs down.”

[Clio the Leo]

1. Oh poo! EVERYONE knows that Labor only has the interest of big business in mind!

:sarcasm:

Now, in all seriousness, sing with me!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYiKdJoSsb8

"FOR THE UNION MAKES US STRONG!!!!"

[treestar]

4. I was just going to say

Those corporatists! :rofl:

:sarcasm:

[Clio the Leo]

5. James Hoffa is a corporatist shill!!!!

.... and so was his daddy!!! (heh!)

[quiller4]

24. I'm married to a retired Teamster. I doubt if you'll find a Teamster

working or retired to agree with you.

Teamsters are a huge part of Labor Neighbor, a grassroots voter registration/education effort begun in 2004 that paid big dividends in 06 and 08. Hoffa was key in delaying implementation of parts of NAFTA and keeping Mexican trucks off our highways unless they meet US vehicle and worker safety standards.

Since he was elected to lead the Teamsters, organizing has really taken off and membership grown. Instead of fighting turf wars with Longshore, under Hoffa Teamsters have worked with Longshore to organize all port workers.

[Mithreal]

22. The President made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

[MoJoWorkin]

2. Good news for working people gets unrecs here? SHAME ON YOU---and you know who you are.

[johnaries]

3. Good! I especially like the Collective Bargaining deal.

That's an excellent addition. K&R

[DevonRex]

6. I stand with the unions on this. Yay! nt

[SpartanDem]

7. These line up with the changes that Paul Krugman recommend

the tax keeps it cost cutting elements without being such a blunt instrument.

[karynnj]

8. Some of the changes here are really good

I like that " Collective bargaining plans were to have been excluded from the exchange. Starting in 2017, collective bargaining agreements at all levels will be able to go into the exchanges." If the exchanges work well, they are the leading cost containment measure in the bill.

It is good that the excise tax is being retained, as it too will constrain costs - the thresholds are still below what Kerry and his staff recommended last summer, but they are getting closer. I suspect that the exclusion until 2018 of the unions might actually not mean anything if the rest of the plan does what it should in terms of constraining costs.

[grantcart]

9. Too bad it has the +1 over inflation

[laughingliberal]

10. Much better!

I would have preferred to ditch the whole excise tax thing and go with the House's tax on really, really rich people. But this is a very good compromise. I assume nurses are now protected as we tend to be an older, female dominated profession.

Good job, everyone!

[Mithreal]

11. Not good enough. Why come up with my own counter-arguments

when Team Obama has already done the work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px5YXs788uM

[freddie mertz]

16. WOW! That is a rather "inconvenient" little clip there, isn't it?

"We are not going to raise taxes on the Middle Class."

Never mind!

[Mithreal]

20. Indeed it is, very embarassing. Another poster's comment amounts to

at least it isn't 100% McCain's plan. And he calls my post absurd.

[ProSense]

18. Absurd

McCain's plan relies on tax credits for individuals who buy their own coverage while eliminating tax breaks for employers who provide health insurance plans. This week, McCain has called for helping states set up non-profit risk pools to help Americans who can't get coverage on the private market because of pre-existing conditions or because they can't afford it.

link

Under McCain's plan, everyone with an employer-based plan would be taxed on the entire amount of their all their benefits.

In the health bill, the excise tax is on insurance companies and only affects the excess above the $24,000 threshold. That makes sense.

McCain's plan was simply nuts.

[Mithreal]

19. There is a weak distinction now. Absurd it is not. Just listen to Biden.

There is more to his argument and you know it.

But I agree with you to the extent that it is not 100% John McCain's plan, it also is part Romney's and a few other knuckleheads' ideas as well as protection of PhRMA and insurance company profits. That's a win-win for the deep pocket donors.

[last1standing]

12. We (the Unions and the People) just won over the corporatists!

That really is good news.

By the way, its very interesting to see you trumpeting this news when you've been posting for weeks that you were solidly against this happening. Are you able to spin your talking points that quickly? Or do you really have no core beliefs and will praise anything Obama does?

Just a hypothetical, obviously.

[Mithreal]

13. It's smoke and mirrors

[freddie mertz]

17. It seems like about half of what they should have fought for.

No tax on the Middle Class was the campaign promise, and they should never have broken it.

We see the consequences all around us today.

[spoony]

15. Agreed, completely. nt

[quiller4]

14. From Jimmy Hoffa's press release:

“I want to thank President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families,” Hoffa said. “He understands the middle-class should not bear a disproportionate cost of health care reform in this country.

The agreement would:

Exempt collective bargaining contracts, state and local workers and VEBAs through Jan. 1, 2018.
Raise the threshold to $8,900 for single plans and $24,000 for family plans. (Taft-Hartley plans will be considered at the family rate.)
Add adjustments for gender and age, raising the threshold for plans that have significant numbers of women and/or older workers.
Raise the threshold for plans with workers in high-risk professions, affecting more than 9 million workers.
Raise the threshold for plans with retirees age 55 and up.
Exempt dental and vision costs beginning in 2015.
Raise the threshold on plans further if health care costs grow faster than expected from 2010-2013.

[Mithreal]

21. Accept Obama's offer or no temporary exemption at all. Not a difficult choice.

There are so many explanations for what has gone down. The pill we are being asked to swallow is too big for some.

[IndianaGreen]

23. The rank-and-file won't buy this deal

Why did you sell out the people?