President Obama, under pressure from union leaders, appears to be willing to see some adjustment in the the thresholds at which a health plan tax would kick in. The so called “Cadillac health plans” came under fire during the campaign with Mr. Obama citing none other than Goldman-Sachs and their “$40,000 health plans” as being abusive. However, the proposal out of the Senate would see the tax kick in at just $8,500 dollars for an individual, an amount that will affect many who are insured through medium and small business. The most upset of all are union bosses who feel that this tax will hit their members. As the President is beholding to the unions, he is now willing to sing another tune in the face of their opposition.  This tax is a punitive and continues the populist tide the President seems to think he is riding by “soaking the so called rich”.  In this case the so called rich will include a vast number of the middle class as well as those union members the White House seems so concerned about. The health reform process continues to be one of special interests, political deals, vote buying and back room negotiations (far from C Span coverage). This is not what health reform is about, but it is what political and federal intervention are about . . . obi jo

President Signals Flexibility on Health Plan Tax – http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/policy/12health.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

www.blogsurfer.us

www.bloglines.com     www.blogburst.com     www.blogcatalog.com     www.clusty.com     www.reddit.com     www.huffingtonpost.com    www.digg.com     www.wikio.com     www.propeller.com     www.mashable.com     www.bing.com     www.wellsphere.com