Taxing Benefits Instead Of Millionaires?

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Harry Reid,

A hero or a danger to Union benefits?  Is the Senate planning on taxing Union health care plans and letting Wall Street Millionaires off the hook?

Read the rest of the story.
The Senate bill is out, it includes a version of the dreaded public option, that States can opt out of if they choose.

The bill is posted HERE  Whether you agree or disagree with the Democratic plan the fact is the GOP has never had a health care bill, beyond "Don't get sick, and if you do, die quickly".

The Senate bill will not change exisitng law regarding access to abortion. The House bill sets far more restricitve rules, and prevents women purchasing abortion coverage even with their own money. Free market Republicans.

House neanderthals, Republicans, threaten to block the bill if more restrictive language isn't in the final bill. Many of these same GOPers recently voted in support of rape if prosecuting it would hurt the corporate bottom line.

The danger to Union members lies in the lack of any tax increases on the rich to pay for any of the bill. The Senate is after all a millionaires club.

The Senate plans to tax "Cadillac" health plans. The plans to be taxed start at $8,500 for a single employee plan, and $23,000 for a family of four. Limits could vary by State and job. Police could get an exemption. 

Not dealt with are inflation and the rapidly increasing cost of insurance. If the plan went into effect in 2013 or 2014 basic plans provided by employers could reach these levels easily. Also not dealt with is the fact that Union employees have given up raises for years to keep their benefits and these taxes would in effect be a pay cut.

State employees, auto workers, and many more Union members have recently suffered lay offs, pay freezes, pay cuts, benefit cuts and furloughts. To add another pay cut on top of these is putting the Democrats in danger of losing many of their most effective supporters.

The preliminary CBO (Congressional Budget Office) analysis put the the cost at $849 billion over the next ten years.

The Senate bill covers 94 percent of eligible Americans, the house bill covers 96 percent. The Senate bill would cover approximately 31 million Americans who do not have insurance now.

The CBO says the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $127 billion over ten yearsand by $650 billion during the next ten years.

At a $849 billion over the next ten years, the bill meets Presidents Obama's condition for a a bill of no more than $900 billion..

Reid will file a cloture motion Thursday, making the vote on the bill this Saturday.

Reid has also been buzzing the “reconciliation threat around to the Democratic hold outs.  Nice to see one Democrat with guts!

It seems as if Reid does have the 51 votes needed to pass the largest part of the bill leaving the hold outs in a position of weakness.

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