A bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) to permanently end the Cadillac Tax that’s set to be imposed on certain health insurance plans received approval on Wednesday by the U.S. House of Representatives in a 419-6 vote.
“Today, we acted to fully repeal the Cadillac Tax, a provision of Obamacare that never made sense for the American people,” Rep. Kelly said on July 17. “This tax has nothing to do with fancy cars or extravagant health plans — it has everything to do with punishing hard-working Americans and their families. What we did today is a crucial step toward protecting employer-sponsored health insurance for all Americans.”
Rep. Kelly is the lead original cosponsor of the Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019, H.R. 748, which he introduced in January with U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) to repeal the excise tax — also known as the Cadillac Tax — on high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans.
The Cadillac Tax, enacted under the Affordable Care Act, is a 40 percent excise tax on employer-provided health insurance plans exceeding $10,200 in premiums per year for individuals, and $27,500 for families. The tax originally was slated to take effect in 2018.
U.S. Reps. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) were among the hundreds of lawmakers who voted to support H.R. 748.
“I am pleased the House has come together in a bipartisan manner to permanently repeal the burdensome Obamacare Cadillac Tax,” said U.S. Rep. Bucshon. “This tax would fall on certain employer-sponsored health care coverage and unfairly punished Hoosiers and Americans.”
Rep. Bucshon cited data from the Tax Policy Center showing that the Cadillac Tax would result in “lower wages and higher income and payroll taxes.”
“While the Cadillac Tax is currently not in effect, it looms large over the health benefits of Americans,” the congressman added. “It is imperative for the growth of the economy and the well-being of all Hoosiers, that we repeal this Obamacare tax once and for all.”
Rep. Bergman concurred, saying the pending tax would threaten the ability of employers in his home state of Michigan to offer affordable benefits to their employees.
“At a time when access to healthcare is at the forefront of our policy conversation, Congress should not support taxing the benefits of hard-working Americans,” said Rep. Bergman. “From labor unions to small businesses, this ridiculous tax would hurt workers all across the First District of Michigan.”