Updates on the Cadillac Tax

October 2nd, 2015

The repeal of the Cadillac Tax represents the first front of attempts by Democrats to modify the ACA. Hillary Clinton–seeking to obtain union support-has now come out in opposition to it.

“Too many Americans are struggling to meet the cost of rising deductibles and drug prices. That’s why, among other steps, I encourage Congress to repeal the so-called Cadillac Tax, which applies to some employer-based health plans, and to fully pay for the cost of repeal,” Clinton wrote in a statement Tuesday.

 

A new poll by Kaiser shows 60% oppose the tax, while only 28% favor it. I’m surprise it’s that low. This tax will be devastating–of course, it also enables the rest of the law to be paid for.

The Hill reports that dozens of 101 economists–including Jonathan Gruber!–are coming out to oppose its repeal.

Dozens of economists and health experts from both sides of the aisle are coming to the defense of ObamaCare’s embattled Cadillac tax.

The 101 experts argue, in a letter distributed by the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that the tax on high-cost health plans will slow the rise of healthcare costs, because employers don’t have enough incentive now to limit the sort of plans they offer.

The letter comes after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton endorsed scrapping the Cadillac tax, a position that is popular among organized labor. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), another Democratic candidate, also opposes the tax, and Republicans have long sought to repeal it.

The CBPP has said that it’s open to some minor tweaks to the Cadillac tax, and that Thursday’s letter was not a direct response to Clinton’s statement this week.

The letter’s signers include Jonathan Gruber, the economist who famously suggested the Obama administration relied on the “stupidity” of the U.S. voter to pass the Affordable Care Act; Douglas Elmendorf, who was head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) until earlier this year; and Ezekiel Emanuel, whose brother Rahm was White House chief of staff when ObamaCare was enacted.