Among the details of the evolving Senate health bill are a number of troubling provisions, and at the top of the list is the disgraceful inclusion -- up until now -- of a new tax on the value of health insurance provided by the employer.  This would compel employers to add an amount of money -- over some set point -- to an employees annual gross income statement as if the value of health insurance was the same as wages or salary earned through the year. For the majority of workers, if the value of your health insurance exceeds $21,000 for family or $8,000 for a single person annually, then any amounts beyond that would presumably be added to your W-2 slip for that year, as if the additional amounts were wages.

While many workers do not receive employer paid insurance plans of these values, given the zooming cost of insurance and it will be just a few years until the tax would be levied on ordinary workers. All research points to the fact that as many as 30 percent of all current working people would today be subject to some additional taxes if the $21,000/$8,000 per year amounts were to be enacted. 

This merely adds insult to injury; since Congress will not put price controls on the skyrocketing costs of health premiums, supporters of this tax know full well that in just a few years workers will be paying large chunks of new income tax because of this. The Senate Democratic leadership -- the primary promoters of the current legislative push -- refuse to even consider outright price controls on health insurance premiums, even though there is flagrant and obvious price fixing and market manipulation by insurance companies. While overall consumer inflation has hovered in the 3% to 4% range "officially" -- and working people regularly see much higher increases in the cost of living -- the insurance companies have increased health insurance costs by astronomical percentages. While "official" health insurance cost increases are recorded at about 7 percent annually, it is commonplace to find annual increases as high as 30 percent in one year. With no insurance competition most employers or customers must either pay the drastic increases or drop the coverage.  

If this scheme sounds crazy, and makes you angry, it should. Only members of the U.S. Senate could possibly think that such an idea was legitimate. Senate supporters of this rip-off are none other than the same Democrats who refuse to put the tax burden where it belongs, on big business and the wealthy. In their minds workers with comprehensive company paid health insurance benefits are somehow the recipients of "Cadillac" benefits. 

It is hoped that progressive Senators will prevail and see the disgraceful new tax scheme removed from the Senate bill by the time it is passed.  There is no justification for it.  In recent years the labor movement -- our union included -- have fought some hard political battles to stop corrupt politicians from levying taxes on health benefits values as well as the values of our pension benefits. For those among us still in possession of a true pension, a defined benefit pension, at least. We will win this battle as well.

See the comments [1] of Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on killing this very bad idea. Our fellow union CWA has also produced a fact-packed sheet [2] with all the details needed to diagnose this bad idea. UE members are asked to call both of your Senators via the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Tell them to kill the benefits tax. To find your Senators [3] visit the UE Political Action web page. Look to the lower right for the "Be Heard" section and use your zip code to find your Senators.