Tuesday, September 29, 2015

STRONG BIPARTISAN VOICES CALL FOR REPEAL

For Immediate Release                                                                     
September 29, 2015                                                                                     

STRONG BIPARTISAN VOICES CALL FOR REPEAL
MOMENTUM GAINING ON CADILLAC TAX REPEAL

WASHINGTON, DC — “Today House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Secretary Hilary Clinton both called for repeal of the so-called ‘Cadillac’ tax on health benefits.  They join a widely bi-partisan group of 243 House members and 28 Senators who have co-sponsored legislation to repeal the tax.  If Chairman Ryan and Secretary Clinton and so many others can agree on repeal of this onerous tax, then President Obama and Congress need to make this a priority,” said James A. Klein, president of the American Benefits Council. 

Chairman Ryan’s remarks came during the mark-up of legislation by the Ways and Means Committee and Secretary Clinton’s statement was issued by her presidential campaign committee.  “Republicans and Democrats don’t agree about much when it comes to the Affordable Care Act.  When respected leaders in both parties agree the Cadillac tax threatens employer-sponsored health coverage, it is time to repeal it for the sake of working Americans, their families and employers.  The Alliance to Fight the 40 urges immediate action before further damage is done to employer-sponsored health coverage covering over 175 million Americans,” said Klein.

The 40% tax applies to plans sponsored by both private sector and public sector employers, non-profit organizations and even self-employed individuals. The tax penalizes employers that have employees with greater health care needs, workforces with higher numbers of older workers and employers based in higher cost areas.

The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, unions, health care companies, businesses and other stakeholders that support employer-sponsored health coverage. This coverage is the backbone of our health care system and protects over 150 million Americans across the United States. The Alliance seeks to repeal the 40% tax on employee health benefits to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains an effective and affordable option for working Americans and their families.

For more information on the 40% Tax on Health Benefits, visit our website at fightthe40.com or follow us on Twitter @Fightthe40.



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Thursday, September 24, 2015

ALLIANCE TO FIGHT THE 40 APPLAUDS ADDITIONAL SENATE MEASURE TO REPEAL THE CADILLAC TAX

ALLIANCE TO FIGHT THE 40 APPLAUDS ADDITIONAL SENATE MEASURE
TO REPEAL THE CADILLAC TAX


Washington — Today, the Alliance to Fight the 40, commended Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for introducing ‘‘American Worker Health Care Tax Relief Act of 2015,” a bill to repeal the 40% tax on health benefits. The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad-based and diverse coalition of employer and employee groups working to repeal the so-called “Cadillac Tax.”

“We would like to thank Sen. Brown for introducing a bill to repeal the ‘Cadillac Tax’ that will help protect the health benefits of millions of working Americans,” said Kate Hull, Executive Director of the Corporate Healthcare Coalition. “With overwhelming bipartisan support on two repeal bills in the House and bipartisan repeal bills introduced in the Senate, the time is NOW to end this regressive tax.”

"This tax does not only hit 'Cadillac' plans. It also hits ordinary plans that are expensive for all the right reasons -- they cover older and disabled workers and families with catastrophic health events.  The tax must be repealed to preserve vital protection for these vulnerable populations," said James A. Klein, president of American Benefits Council.

"We appreciate Senator Brown’s efforts to protect employer-sponsored health plans that help counties offer competitive health benefits to employees," said National Association of Counties President Sallie Clark. "The excise tax would impede counties’ ability to attract and retain quality employees.  It would also impact county budgets and place additional burdens on taxpayers."

"LIUNA commends Senator Brown for introducing legislation to repeal the 40% health benefits tax.  If enacted, his legislation, along with the bipartisan bill introduced last week by Senators Heller and Heinrich, will ensure that millions of Americans won't have to face forced benefits cuts,” said LIUNA General President Terry O'Sullivan. “This needs to be a bipartisan effort and we believe that with the two bills now introduced in the Senate we will be able to see this regressive tax repealed once and for all."  

"While the ACA has done a great job of giving health insurance to the uninsured, we must repeal the Cadillac Tax to make sure it doesn't take benefits away from the 150 million hardworking Americans who already have it," said Tom Flynn, political and legislative director for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. "The Cadillac Tax also unfairly penalizes workers because they may happen to live in high-cost states.”  

Sen. Brown’s effort to repeal the Cadillac Tax joins other bipartisan efforts in the Senate. On September 17th, Senators Heller and Heinrich introduced the bipartisan S. 2045, the “Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015.’’

The 40% tax applies to plans sponsored by both private sector and public sector employers, non-profit organizations and even self-employed individuals. The tax penalizes employers that have employees with greater health care needs, workforces with higher numbers of older workers and employers based in higher cost areas.

The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, unions, health care companies, businesses and other stakeholders that support employer-sponsored health coverage. This coverage is the backbone of our health care system and protects over 150 million Americans across the United States. The Alliance seeks to repeal the 40% tax on employee health benefits to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains an effective and affordable option for working Americans and their families.


For more information on the 40% Tax on Health Benefits, visit our website at fightthe40.com or follow us on Twitter @Fightthe40.



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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Las Vegas Review Journal: Cadillac tax a health care car crash by Sen. Dean Heller

http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/cadillac-tax-health-care-car-crash

Cadillac tax a health care car crash

If you're one of the 1.3 million Nevadans covered by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, and if you like your plan, you should take a seat before reading any further.
If the White House has its say, your insurance plan is about to change for the worse. That's because companies are expected to phase out many of these plans. Whether you're a public employee, a union employee or you work in a manufacturing plant, many Nevadans are going to feel the wrath of the Obamacare "Cadillac tax."
The tax imposes a stiff 40 percent penalty on employers if they sponsor an employee health plan with annual premiums exceeding $10,200 for an individual or $27,500 for a family. Yes, if you are in the middle class and actually like your health plan, the government is about to tax that plan until it goes away.
Growing up in my dad's auto shop, I remember when Cadillac's slogans were "universal symbol of excellence" and "world's best synonym for quality." The Obamacare Cadillac tax is the opposite. If anything, it makes sure all hard-working Nevadans have the same terrible health insurance.
The Obama administration contends this tax will hit only a tiny sliver of generous health care plans, hence the name "Cadillac tax." But in reality, the percentage of plans hit by the tax will grow exponentially by the end of this decade. Set to take effect in 2018, this tax is expected to impact 54 percent of employers and almost 151 million workers, including retirees, small businesses, government employees, the self-employed and low- and moderate-income families. Hardly anyone in Nevada will be shielded from the devastating effects of the Cadillac tax.
What will happen as a result of this tax? The cost of health insurance will increase for hard-working families, who will be forced to pay higher co-pays and deductibles because companies will no longer have an incentive to bear the burden of subsidizing moderate health plans enjoyed by middle-class Americans.
The Cadillac tax also limits key health care benefits such as flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts and supplemental insurance plans that employees currently utilize. This tax will negatively affect more than 33 million Americans annually relying on FSAs and HSAs to limit out-of-pocket costs and lead healthier lives.
Oddly enough, for all the bad the Cadillac tax will cause, it has done one good thing: It has united opposition to prevent it from taking effect. Both union leaders and the business community want this Obamacare provision to be gone. That's why I've teamed with Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to introduce new, bipartisan legislation to repeal the Cadillac tax. The entire thing.
With Clark County's diverse workforce relying on employer-sponsored health plans, there isn't a community in America this Cadillac tax will affect more than Las Vegas. There are certain to be many displaced employees finding themselves in 2018 with worse health plans than they have today. As your U.S. senator, I will stop that from happening with this legislation.
— Republican Dean Heller represents Nevada in the U.S. Senate.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Impact of the Cadillac Tax Tax on Non-Profit Organizations

FACT SHEET:
Impact of the 40% Tax on Non-Profit Organizations

The 40% tax on health benefits, which was enacted in the Affordable Care Act and takes effect in 2018, is a non-deductible excise tax of 40% of the value by which employer-sponsored health coverage exceeds certain benefit thresholds – in 2018 the thresholds are $10,200 for self-only coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.

The 40% tax, often referred to as the “Cadillac tax,” was intended to address only high cost health plans that provide “rich” benefits (e.g., low or non-existent copays and deductibles, extensive provider networks and coverage for expensive procedures).  The purpose of the tax was twofold: to generate revenue to help pay the cost of covering the uninsured, and to make so-called “gold plated plans”– which some argue encourage overuse of medical care – less attractive.

Many non-profit organizations are not aware that the health plans they offer to their employees will be subject to the 40% tax. 

·         Non-profit organizations, religious organizations, private employers and governmental employers – whether insured or self-funded – will be responsible for calculating the excise tax and apportioning it among insurers and administrators, who pay the tax.  The calculation must be done on a monthly basis for each employee.

·         The 40% tax will likely hit a greater share of non-profit employees than for profit employees.  According to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, premiums paid by nonprofit employees average higher than premiums paid by the general working population.  

·         Although non-profits are generally exempt from federal income taxes (other than income tax on an organization’s unrelated business income (“UBIT”), the 40% excise tax will apply to all non-profit organizations in their capacity as employers.

·         Because the tax is non-deductible, it cannot be used to offset an organization’s UBIT.

·         Administering the 40% tax will be particularly burdensome for small non-profit organizations that may be forced to incur the added expense of hiring outside consultants to help comply with all of the regulatory requirements that will come with determining whether and when their health plans are hit with the 40% tax.

·         In determining whether their health plans are subject to the 40% tax, employers must include not only the value of the underlying health care benefits, but also the value of employer contributions to their employees’ medical flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and health savings accounts, as well as employee contributions made to a medical flexible spending account or health savings account through payroll deduction.

·         The 40% tax also applies to the value of on-site medical clinics, certain wellness and employee assistance plans and other pre-tax health benefits. 

·         The 40% tax on benefits will tax charitable not-for-profits at the highest for-profit corporate tax rate for offering health care to their employees.

·         The 40% tax may create an additional burden for tax-exempt employers that offer health benefits because the tax is calculated by the employer and paid by each plan’s insurer or “person that administers the plan benefits” (which could be the employer’s third party administrator or TPA).  Experts expect the insurer or TPA to charge the employer for the amount of the tax plus any tax that the TPA might be required to pay for taking the tax repayment into income. Because the tax –exempt employer cannot deduct the cost of repaying the tax like a for-profit employer may, it may increase the cost of the tax for tax exempt employers.


The 40% tax needs to be repealed now as many employers are already cutting benefits and making plan design changes to avoid the tax. The benefits planning process occurs years in advance and the burden of the cost-sharing adjustments that employers are making this year and next will fall hardest on those least able to afford – lower-income workers, sicker workers and older workers.  If we wait until 2018, it will be too late.




The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, unions, health care companies, businesses and other stakeholders that support employer-sponsored health coverage. This coverage is the backbone of our health care system and protects over 150 million Americans across the United States. The Alliance seeks to repeal the 40% tax on employee health benefits to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains an effective and affordable option for working Americans and their families.


Thursday, September 17, 2015

ALLIANCE TO FIGHT THE 40 APPLAUDS SENATORS HELLER AND HEINRICH FOR INTRODUCING BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TO REPEAL THE CADILLAC TAX

ALLIANCE TO FIGHT THE 40 APPLAUDS SENATORS HELLER AND HEINRICH
FOR INTRODUCING BIPARTISAN SENATE BILL TO REPEAL THE CADILLAC TAX

Washington— Today, the Alliance to Fight the 40, applauded Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) for introducing the “Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015,’’ which would repeal the 40% tax on health benefits. The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad-based and diverse coalition of employer and employee groups working to repeal the so-called “Cadillac Tax.”

“We would like to thank Sen. Heller and Sen. Heinrich for taking steps to help protect the more than 150 million American workers, families and retirees who rely on employer-sponsored health benefits,” said Kate Hull, Executive Director of the Corporate Healthcare Coalition. “This bipartisan legislation to repeal the Cadillac Tax will ensure that hard working Americans who like their health insurance can keep it. We urge the Senate to take action on it as quickly as possible.” 

“Repealing the 40 percent tax, thereby preserving high-quality employer-sponsored health coverage, should and would be a bipartisan, bicameral success story. We urge Senators on both sides of the aisle to support the Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act,” said American Benefits Council President James A. Klein.

"We commend Senators Heller and Heinrich for their leadership in protecting employer-sponsored health plans that help counties attract and retain quality employees," said National Association of Counties President Sallie Clark. "The excise tax would not only hinder our ability to offer competitive health benefits, but it would also place additional burdens on taxpayers and impact county budgets."

“The bipartisan Heller-Heinrich Senate repeal bill brings us one step closer to addressing the harmful and unfair impacts of the 40 percent health benefits tax on America's middle class,” said Terry O'Sullivan, General President of the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA). "We commend the Senators' leadership and look forward to working with them and the rest of the Congress to ensure that workers' across the country will be able to keep their healthcare and not have to pay this regressive tax."

The 40% tax applies to plans sponsored by both private sector and public sector employers, non-profit organizations and even self-employed individuals. The tax penalizes employers that have employees with greater health care needs, workforces with higher numbers of older workers and employers based in higher cost areas.

The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, unions, health care companies, businesses and other stakeholders that support employer-sponsored health coverage. This coverage is the backbone of our health care system and protects over 150 million Americans across the United States. The Alliance seeks to repeal the 40% tax on employee health benefits to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains an effective and affordable option for working Americans and their families.


For more information on the 40% Tax on Health Benefits, visit our website at fightthe40.com or follow us on Twitter @Fightthe40.



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Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Rep. Joe Courtney's OpEd in The Hill: Repeal the excise tax on high-cost health plans

Be sure to read this great oped in today's The Hill by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT).

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/253759-repeal-the-excise-tax-on-high-cost-health-plans

September 16, 2015, 11:00 am

Repeal the excise tax on high-cost health plans



In the wake of the King v. Burwell decision, the future of the Affordable Care Act is more certain than ever. Because of the law, millions of Americans have gained health insurance coverage, and millions more have higher-quality plans that will protect them from costly medical emergencies. With these successes already in the books, there are some small changes that would make a big difference for working families—including repeal of the harmful 40 percent excise tax on high-cost plans set to begin in 2018. Rather than re-fighting old battles over the future of the ACA, it is time for Congress to work together to implement smart changes to help the law work better for all Americans.
Indeed, Congress has amended the ACA to improve certain facets of the law. For example, Congress reduced burdens on small business and taxpayers by eliminating an onerous 1099 filing requirement, repealing the financially unsustainable CLASS Act, and helped military families by extending TRICARE coverage to dependents up to age 26.
Now, there is growing bipartisan support to repeal of the so-called “Cadillac tax” that is scheduled to take effect in January, 2018. Why? Because respected independent actuaries (Towers Watson, AON, Milliman) have all concluded that the tax will not just nip at the health plans of the super-rich, but will harm the coverage of millions of middle-class “Ford Focus” health plans.
These actuaries have unanimously found that the tax would not reduce waste because premium costs are driven by age, gender, and geographic location, which have nothing to do with plan benefits or utilization. In a nutshell, the tax would clobber older workers, women, and families in expensive locations who receive relatively modest health benefits.
Despite growing support for repealing this harmful tax that would go into effect in 2018, defenders insist that the tax will impact only “Cadillac” level plans. The theory goes that by stripping down the plans’ coverage, the tax penalty will magically generate new income for workers as employers boost wages to respond to benefit cuts, thus increasing tax revenues to cut the deficit. However, there is overwhelming evidence to dispute this theory.
For employers in high-cost regions in the midst of negotiating long-term labor contracts for teachers, firefighters, and office workers are already reacting to the looming specter of the excise tax by drastically reducing health benefits to avoid the tax. For families, this means a shift from comprehensive coverage to high-deductible plans that provide fewer benefits and require far more out-of-pocket spending—squeezing household budgets during a time when wages have largely stagnated for middle class families.
The Congressional Budget Office projections of the costs of repealing the tax have dropped significantly this year, but their figures include a questionable assumption—that employers, as they cut benefits to avoid the excise tax, will provide their workers with raises to fully compensate them for reduced health coverage. Three-quarters of CBO’s projected cost of repealing the excise tax comes not from the tax itself, but from income and payroll taxes on this theoretical wage increase—a notion that defies both common sense and recent economic trends.
Even more damaging, the tax undermines the goals of the ACA by punishing cost-effective prevention and wellness care, which the U.S. Treasury has ruled would be subject to the tax. According to study after study, access to routine preventive care has proven to reduce costs and improve health outcomes.  Without affordable access to this care, patients will seek high-cost emergency room treatment for primary care and common ailments, costing much more to insurers and hospitals—undercutting the expansion of preventive care via the Affordable Care Act that we know bends the cost curve of health care spending.  Studies show that health plans with high beneficiary cost-sharing often result in patients delaying or refusing routine care that could have prevented more serious health complications and expensive uncompensated care.
In the House of Representatives, my bipartisan bill to repeal the excise tax, H.R. 2050, The Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 has more than 140 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle. If passed, it will do what the American people want—for Congress to repair and improve the law to help it work better. 
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Health Underwriters, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Benefits Council, Human Resources Policy Association, UNITE HERE, the National Association of Counties, the AFL-CIO, Cigna, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and many more have formed an unusual alliance to combat the excise tax.   I have heard from towns in Connecticut, Waterford and Groton in particular, where negotiations for town employees are stalled over who should pay the excise tax burden.  Diverse stakeholders such as these do not often align on questions of health care policy, but they have sent Congress a powerful message: work together to stop the harm this tax would inflict.
As President Obama said during a speech in Tennessee in July, despite progress that has expanded coverage to 90 percent of Americans in the law’s first five years, “we’ve still got work to do to make health care in America better.” Eliminating the threat that the excise tax poses to millions of Americans with work-based health plans is a good way to start.
Courtney has represented Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District since 2007. He sits on the Armed Services and the Education and the Workforce committees.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Fight The 40 Applauds House For Exceeding 'Magic Number' To Repeal Cadillac Tax

The Alliance to Fight the 40 today applauded the news that a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives has co-sponsored legislation to repeal the 40% "Cadillac Tax" on health plans. The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad-based and diverse coalition of employer and employee groups working to repeal the so-called "Cadillac Tax."
Two separate measures to repeal the 40% tax, authored by Rep. Frank Guinta (H.R. 879) and Rep. Joe Courtney (H.R. 2050), have collectively attracted 224 House cosponsors. The Affordable Care Act's (ACA) "Cadillac tax" is a 40% non-deductible tax on the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage that exceeds certain thresholds.
"Actuaries and health care experts agree — the 40 percent excise tax will unfairly impact a broad swath of American workers and their families, degrading the quality of health insurance coverage and increasing out of pocket costs," said Rep. Joe Courtney. "The tax undercuts the goals of affordable and accessible health care, and it is already affecting workers and employers as they plan for the next several years. With a bipartisan majority in the House already backing repeal of this tax — no small feat in Washington today — and business and labor united to fight it, I am optimistic that this important fix is gaining momentum."
"I introduced H.R. 879 — Ax the Tax on Middle Class Americans' Health Plans Act — to repeal a harmful provision of the President's healthcare law that will inflict a 40 percent tax on middle class Americans' health plans," said Rep. Frank Guinta. "I've heard from many municipalities in my district that this tax hike will cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the case of our state's largest city, Manchester, it will cost $6 million alone. 
"Recent studies suggest millions of middle-class American workers would see an average increase of more than $1,000 in higher payroll and income taxes per year. This legislation will protect hardworking middle-class Americans from facing this devastating tax increase, employers from reducing workers' benefits and municipal taxpayers who — if enacted — would experience skyrocketing property taxes," Guinta said.
"We commend Reps. Courtney and Guinta for their work to protect the employer-sponsored health plans of over 150 million Americans. We urge House leadership to move a stand-alone Cadillac Tax repeal bill as quickly as possible," said Tom Flynn, political and legislative director for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
"Representatives Courtney and Guinta have shown tremendous leadership in the bipartisan effort to protect employer-sponsored health plans. Counties must be able to continue to offer competitive health benefits to county employees," said National Association of Counties President Sallie Clark. "Not only would the excise tax hinder our efforts to attract and retain quality employees, but it would also have significant impacts on county budgets and place additional burdens on taxpayers."
The 40 percent tax applies to plans sponsored by both private sector and public sector employers, non-profit organizations and even self-employed individuals. The tax penalizes employers that have employees with greater health care needs, workforces with higher numbers of older workers and employers based in higher cost areas. The Alliance to Fight the 40 is unified in its effort to protect the coverage that over 150 million Americans like and want to keep.
"The 40% tax on health benefits is already influencing the coverage of millions of middle class Americans, as employers are reluctantly forced to take action to avoid the tax by raising deductibles and imposing more cost-sharing" said Katy Spangler, senior vice president, health Policy, for the American Benefits Council. "Congress must act now to repeal the tax."
About the Alliance to Fight the 40: Stop the 40% Tax on Health Benefits
The Alliance to Fight the 40 is a broad based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, unions, health care companies, businesses and other stakeholders that support employer-sponsored health coverage. This coverage is the backbone of our health care system and protects over 150 million Americans across the United States. The Alliance seeks to repeal the 40 percent tax on employee health benefits to ensure that employer-sponsored coverage remains an effective and affordable option for working Americans and their families.
For more information on the 40 Percent Tax on Health Benefits, visit our website at fightthe40.com or follow us on Twitter @Fightthe40.
PR Newswire Release: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alliance-to-fight-the-40-applauds-house-for-exceeding-magic-number-to-repeal-cadillac-tax-300142296.html?tc=eml_cleartime