President Barack Obama signaled to House Democratic leaders Wednesday that they'll have to drop their opposition to taxing high-end health insurance plans to pay for health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans.In other words, Harry Reid wins, Nancy Pelosi loses.
In a meeting at the White House, Obama expressed his preference for the insurance tax contained in the Senate's health overhaul bill, but largely opposed by House Democrats and organized labor, Democratic aides said. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.
House Democrats want to raise income taxes on high-income individuals instead and are reluctant to abandon that approach, while recognizing that they will have to bend on that and other issues so that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., can maintain his fragile 60-vote majority support for the bill.
The "tax the rich" crowd in the House will not like this. It doesn't matter to them that the rich don't have enough money to fund this thing, and once you try and tax them they are very good at sheltering income. It's the principal of sticking it to somebody who has more than somebody else.
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If they tax 'high end' insurance policies, the simple fact is that the former recipients will simply realize that lesser insurance is just fine...thank you, and the presumed cash cow will have died leaving an even greater than estimated deficit!
I recall reading that "high end" insurance policies is what union members have. Some of the big unions, anyway.
Just a guess, here, but I'd bet those unions won't like this.
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