Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said today that the agreement reached Thursday with the White House on the Senate’s proposed health insurance excise tax moves the country much closer to providing affordable health insurance for all Americans.
Hoffa also thanked President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families and for his commitment to solve one of the country’s most urgent issues.
“This agreement goes a long way in making sure that Teamsters will continue to have excellent collectively bargained health insurance coverage without having to pay a new tax,” said Hoffa, who was a leader in negotiations with the White House to make major changes in the health care reform plan. Hoffa from the beginning led the fight against a proposed excise tax on health insurers, which would be passed on to middle-class Americans.
“I want to thank President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families,” Hoffa said. “He understands the middle-class should not bear a disproportionate cost of health care reform in this country.
The agreement would:
* Exempt collective bargaining contracts, state and local workers and VEBAs through Jan. 1, 2018.
* Raise the threshold to $8,900 for single plans and $24,000 for family plans. (Taft-Hartley plans will be considered at the family rate.)
* Add adjustments for gender and age, raising the threshold for plans that have significant numbers of women and/or older workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with workers in high-risk professions, affecting more than 9 million workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with retirees age 55 and up.
* Exempt dental and vision costs beginning in 2015.
* Raise the threshold on plans further if health care costs grow faster than expected from 2010-2013.
