Along with nearly 600 stakeholder organizations, the ABA HSA Council signed onto a letter urging the House to support a bipartisan bill to repeal the so-called “Cadillac tax” — a 40 percent tax on employer-provided health care coverage.
Although the tax is not slated to take effect until 2022, employers must work within a long timeframe for planning benefits, from two to five years. In an effort to avoid triggering the impending tax, employers have already begun making changes that result in reduced benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs for the 181 million Americans who get their health insurance coverage through their work. According to Kaiser Family Foundation 2018 data, since 2010, deductibles have risen 89 percent, while wage growth has remained comparatively flat.
“Employer-provided coverage is the backbone of our health care system and the primary source of coverage for the majority of Americans,” the groups wrote. “Working families are already stretched too thin. Let’s work together to keep health care affordable and available.”
