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"I'm not
proposing eliminating it at this point, I’m open to suggestions
for changing it," Illinois Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
"I don't know if it'll be done this year or next year," Durbin
added. "But we're trying to figure out a way to change it or
remove it and the impact it would have."
The tax got its nickname because it will apply to premium or
"Cadillac" healthcare plans starting in 2018. It would be levied
on employer-based coverage that exceeds the thresholds of
$10,200 a year for individuals and $27,500 for families.
It was designed to rein in healthcare costs under Obama's
healthcare law. Employers could avoid it by replacing expensive
plans with cheaper ones.
Congressional Republicans have long sought to repeal the entire
Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Democrats have
generally defended the act. But the looming Cadillac tax has
grown increasingly unpopular, in part because labor unions say
it could encourage employers to cut back on their health
insurance plans for workers.
Earlier this autumn, the Democratic front-runner for president,
Hillary Clinton, broke with the Obama administration to call for
a repeal of the tax. She said the estimated $87 billion in lost
revenue from repeal would be offset by her healthcare reform
plans.
The leading Senate Democrat, Harry Reid of Nevada, has also said
he supports a fix to the Cadillac tax.
The White House on Monday defended the tax, saying it gives
employers with high-cost plans an incentive to make the plans
more efficient.
But speaking at a news briefing, spokesman Josh Earnest did not
rule out changes to the Cadillac tax.
"This law does not take effect until 2018. So we’ll be able to
evaluate exactly how it would go into effect. And if in that
intervening time there are ideas that are put forward that will
strengthen the law, then we’re open to a conversation about
that," Earnest said.
Durbin told reporters on Tuesday that "nobody has a clue" among
congressional Democrats how the $87 billion in lost revenue from
the tax could be replaced.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by Jeff
Mason; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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