Union leaders negotiate improvements in benefits tax

After many hours of negotiations with the White House and Congressional leaders - and continued pressure from our members - CWA President Larry Cohen and other labor leaders have been able to negotiate significant improvements in the proposed tax on high-cost health benefits.

"This is not the plan we would have written if we were the sole author, but just like contract negotiations there is another side to the table.  And in this case there are three other sides: the House, the Senate and the White House," CWA leadership said in a statement.  "We are proud that the improvements we negotiated protect both union members and members of the public. Labor unions have a long history of protecting all workers and this is another great example.

"More than any other union, CWA's leadership has really pushed this issue in the mainstream and online media, on Capitol Hill, and in building coalitions to help deliver the message that there's a better way to finance health care reform," the statement continued. "Our members mobilized.  We made tens of thousands of calls and visits to the House and Senate.  We should all be proud of what we have accomplished here."

The job, however, isn't finished.  We need to see the agreement into final legislative language, which must be passed by both the House and Senate.

Improvements include:

• A delay until 2018 on applying the tax to collectively-bargained plans, allowing time to bargain for changes in benefits and wages.
• A higher premium level before the tax kicks in ($24,000 for family coverage, compared to $23,000 in the Senate bill).
• Exemption of dental and vision benefits, effectively raising the threshold by another $1,500.
• Agreement that the threshold will be pushed up further if health costs rise faster than expected.
• Adjusting the threshold for plans with large numbers of women and older workers - people for whom premiums are higher because they use more care. Also, the agreement preserves Senate-passed protections for plans that cover workers in high-risk occupations and for plans that cover retirees between the ages of 55 and 65 - two other groups with higher-than-average premiums.