Unions continue fight against tax on health plans

May 21, 2011

As part of the current DC obsession with deficit reduction, politicians and policy makers, such as the “Bowles-Simpson” deficit commission, have proposed new taxes on health care benefits to help raise revenues. Labor unions and health care experts have come out against the plan arguing that new taxes on benefits would reduce financial security for many working Americans and would shift the ever growing cost of health care onto the backs of families.

A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute finds that these proposals would hurt many middle income families and not just “Cadillac” health plans. It would also push many employees out of employer provided insurance and onto the individual market. Although recent regulations passed as part of health care reform aim to reform the individual health insurance market, it is still dysfunctional. Pushing families onto it would result in greater financial risk and worse health.

-- The Hill / Economic Policy Institute