Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal, Friday, December 11, 2015 by Stephanie Armour and Richard Rubin
Washingon-Congress is getting closer to delaying a tax on expensive employer-sponsored health plans, imperiling a levy that was a key revenue source and cost-control measure in the 2010 health law.
Bipartisan support for killing or suspending the start of the so-called Cadillac tax, which is scheduled to take effect in 2018, is growing.
With President Barack Obama saying he would veto an outright repeal, lawmakers are pushing to postpone the tax for two years. They are seeking to wrap it into a package they are negotiating with the administration that would extend several expired and expiring business tax breaks and middle-class tax credits.
A delay would punt the fate of the tax, which is a part of the Affordable Care Act, to the next president, who is likely to be more open to striking it down. Republican presidential candidates have supported a repeal, as has Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
The tax applies to company plans valued at more than $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for a family.
Supporters of the tax say it would curb health-care spending. They also say employers will offset pared-down plans with higher wages. Critics say the tax will hurt middle-class workers and affect a large swath of businesses.