The Obama White House cut another rank backroom deal with unions to downsize the proposed Cadillac tax on health care plans.
C-SPAN was not allowed in to broadcast the secret negotiations.
Of course, Barack Obama promised not to tax the Cadillac health care plans during the election and attacked John McCain for proposing such a tax:
The AP reported:
The White House reached a tentative agreement with union leaders early Thursday to tax high-cost insurance plans, officials said, removing one of the major stumbling blocks in the way of a final compromise on comprehensive health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama.
Complete details of the tentative deal were not immediately available, although the White House was expected to present it to senior lawmakers later in the day. Union leaders also were returning to the White House.
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., who led the opposition to the tax in the House, said the agreement involves several measures that would ease its impact. Among them: excluding the value of dental and vision benefits when applying the tax as well as raising the $23,000 threshold at which it would take effect for families.
Union officials are also pushing to provide that anyone who makes $200,000 or less would be excluded from the health plan benefits tax, a concession that would also benefit employees who are not unionized.
Radiovice Online has more on the backroom deal.
UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds has this from Megan Mc McArdle:
Special Deal for Labor Unions in Health Care Bill. “If you think that the Nebraska deal was unpopular, just wait until the administration announces higher taxes on everyone but its friends in the labor movement. We may see if the popularity of the health care bill still has room to fall.”
