Thursday, June 30, 2016

ICYMI: SHRM Article on The November Election’s Impact on Health Care Reform and the 'Cadillac Tax'


ICYMI: SHRM Article on The November Election’s Impact on Health Care Reform and the 'Cadillac Tax'

 

A recent Society for Human Resource Management article, After ACA Repeal, Most Employers Would Keep Some Provisions — The November election will chart health care reform’s futuresummarized a recent IFEBP panel, highlighting the impact the looming November election will have on the health care landscape — especially the 40% tax on health benefits, also known as the Cadillac Tax.  

 

Excerpts from the article:

  • The future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will be hotly debated this election season, with a renewed push to repeal should the GOP triumph, and at least modest revisions if the Democrats keep the White House, according to speakers at the recent International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) Washington Legislative Update.

  • According to a new IFEBP survey report, to avoid the 40 percent "Cadillac tax" on high-cost health plans, over a quarter (28 percent) of employers are currently working on plan design changes and an additional 38 percent intend to do so before the tax takes effect in 2020. Among these employers, the most common actions taken or planned are moving to a high-deductible health plan (43 percent), shifting costs to employees (42 percent), dropping higher cost plans (31 percent) or reducing benefits (30 percent).

  • "Whether or not the Cadillac tax goes into effect, it will have left an impact on the health care landscape," said [Julie] Stich [research director at IFEBP]. "Employers are taking cost-shifting measures to avoid the tax and these efforts are shaping how Americans use and receive health care coverage."

  • Both presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump have said they favor repeal of the Cadillac tax, making it possible this could be the one big change that goes through whichever party wins the White House.

 

 

TheAlliance to Fight the 40 is a broad-based coalition comprised of public and private sector employer organizations, consumer groups, patient advocates, 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 175 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.

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