Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton called for a repeal of the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's so-called Cadillac tax, marking a significant break from US President Barack Obama on his signature healthcare law.
"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 said in a statement released Tuesday by her campaign.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Democrats often argue the provision – which is generally disliked across the political spectrum and is highly unpopular with many unions whose support Clinton's campaign is courting — is more in reality a tax on most employer-sponsored health plans.
"Some have said that this tax only falls on 'Cadillac' healthcare plans, but the reality is that the plans this bill will tax are more like Chevrolets," Sanders said in a statement last week. "Workers have fought hard to negotiate decent healthcare benefits, often in exchange for lower pay. This excise tax unfairly punishes them."
For Clinton, the break stands to be part of a series of proposals in which she advocates for building on the law, colloquially known as Obamacare. Last week, for example, she introduced a plan to combat the rising cost of prescription drugs, and she took aim Monday at a pharmaceutical CEO whose company had jacked up the price of a popular drug by more than 5,000%.
Larry Levitt, senior vice president for special initiatives at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said Clinton's planned schism with the healthcare law would be "big." But he and other experts on the law suggested candidates would have to offer plans on how to make up a large chunk of expected revenue the tax would bring the government.
According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the tax is expected to bring in $87 billion in revenue by 2025 and grow exponentially in the years that follow. It's why the tax counts among its fans many economists and deficit hawks.
View gallery
.
(CRFB)
"It's premature to call it dead, though, since it's not at all clear there will be consensus around how to replace the substantial revenues the tax raises and how to constrain healthcare spending," Levitt told Business Insider.
Added Tim Jost, a professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law and a supporter of the law: "Somebody still needs to figure out how to pay for a repeal. There is a lot of money involved."
In her statement, Clinton said her "reforms" to the law would "more than cover" the cost of repealing the Cadillac tax, but she did not offer further specifics.
__________________
LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
The Republican-led House Intelligence Committee sold out the United States' proud Benghazi truthers on Friday, when it released the results of a two-year investigation into the 2012 attack on the American diplomatic compound in Libya. According to the House panel, the U.S. military, the CIA, and the Obama administration responded "properly" to the assault, which left four Americans dead. In other words: There was no Benghazi scandal.
Again, Thank GOD, you dont have the right to vote in this country. The vast majority of people know that drivel is not true. Even the liberals (which is why her polling is abysmal ).
__________________
America guarantees equal opportunity, not equal outcome...
Again, Thank GOD, you dont have the right to vote in this country. The vast majority of people know that drivel is not true. Even the liberals (which is why her polling is abysmal ).
That report came from the Conservatives, and they loathe her.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Bernie Sanders is a known socialist. We do not want communism here.
Just out of curiousity...do you consider Canada socialist? Or is it communist?
Non-coincidental.
Of no importance.
A pretty place where my favorite show is filmed.
Nothing more.
__________________
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Clinton's call to scrap the law puts her on the same page as Democratic presidential rival and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats in the Senate — and eight Democratic senators introduced legislation to repeal the tax, a 40% excise tax on employer plans whose premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for families.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
My dil's friend who was raised in communist Bulgaria said that communisim and socialist are cousins. As for Canada I have to be honest, I do not know to much about your country to make a judgement. I do know here the more they (politicians) try to fix our healthcare the worse it becomes. I thought it was fine before Clinton tried to fix it when he was President. Now I cant go to the Dr. I had before and had to find a different DR.
Communism is really just an extreme form of socialism.
However, most governments are not truly any ONE form of government. We are a capitalist country, but have some socialist programs. And our welfare system is actually leaning towards communism, since socialism would distribute weath based on contribution rather than need.
So, if a capitalist country can have communist leanings, a socialist country is just that much closer.
__________________
LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
My dil's friend who was raised in communist Bulgaria said that communisim and socialist are cousins. As for Canada I have to be honest, I do not know to much about your country to make a judgement. I do know here the more they (politicians) try to fix our healthcare the worse it becomes. I thought it was fine before Clinton tried to fix it when he was President. Now I cant go to the Dr. I had before and had to find a different DR.
Canada is a social democracy, as are most other countries which have universal healthcare. It's a very far cry from both socialism and communism. I lived in the USSR, behind the Iron Curtain, and trust me...a social democracy is nothing like that. We have very rich people and poor people. The government doesn't own everything, including all the means of production. Capitalism abounds here, as does private property and private businesses.
The government, however, tries to make sure nobody suffers unduly and healthcare is a human right.
My dil's friend who was raised in communist Bulgaria said that communisim and socialist are cousins. As for Canada I have to be honest, I do not know to much about your country to make a judgement. I do know here the more they (politicians) try to fix our healthcare the worse it becomes. I thought it was fine before Clinton tried to fix it when he was President. Now I cant go to the Dr. I had before and had to find a different DR.
Canada is a social democracy, as are most other countries which have universal healthcare. It's a very far cry from both socialism and communism. I lived in the USSR, behind the Iron Curtain, and trust me...a social democracy is nothing like that. We have very rich people and poor people. The government doesn't own everything, including all the means of production. Capitalism abounds here, as does private property and private businesses.
The government, however, tries to make sure nobody suffers unduly and healthcare is a human right.
Keep telling yourself that. 20 to 30 years from now, when your government crumbles under the load of socialism, you will think differently.
Yes, socialism is a big move toward communism. Take from the rich, give it all to the poor and then make sure no one is rich.
__________________
I drink coffee so I don't kill you.
I quilt so I don't kill you.
Do you see a theme?
Faith isn't something that keeps bad things from happening. Faith is what helps us get through bad things when they do happen.
My dil's friend who was raised in communist Bulgaria said that communisim and socialist are cousins. As for Canada I have to be honest, I do not know to much about your country to make a judgement. I do know here the more they (politicians) try to fix our healthcare the worse it becomes. I thought it was fine before Clinton tried to fix it when he was President. Now I cant go to the Dr. I had before and had to find a different DR.
Canada is a social democracy, as are most other countries which have universal healthcare. It's a very far cry from both socialism and communism. I lived in the USSR, behind the Iron Curtain, and trust me...a social democracy is nothing like that. We have very rich people and poor people. The government doesn't own everything, including all the means of production. Capitalism abounds here, as does private property and private businesses.
The government, however, tries to make sure nobody suffers unduly and healthcare is a human right.
Keep telling yourself that. 20 to 30 years from now, when your government crumbles under the load of socialism, you will think differently.
Yes, socialism is a big move toward communism. Take from the rich, give it all to the poor and then make sure no one is rich.
LOL to all you that thing the GOP is floating these stories about Hillary, it's the Dem's. They don't want her but are placating her until they find a different candidate. She will not win the nomination. She even floated the birther thing with O in 2008 but that was blamed on the GOP. That was total Dem stuff. Do you people not understand how the current political system works? It is exactly why the likes of Trump, Sanders, and Fiorna are getting attention; because THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE CURRENT POLITICAL SYSTEM AND DON"T BUY INTO IT.
__________________
Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.