The Associated Press reports in a story here that "President Obama and congressional Democrats stand within days if not hours of striking final deals on historic
health care legislation after key
labor unions won concessions and pledged their support....heads of the nation's leading labor unions were announcing a
deal to resolve a highly contentious dispute over Obama's desire to tax
high-cost insurance plans to help pay for the health legislation.
Unions had objected strongly, saying union workers ultimately would pay
the 40 percent levy, and House Democrats backed the unions. But labor
bowed to the
White House demands after extracting agreements that would significantly soften the blow of the tax."
"The agreement with the unions has radically changed the politics on that issue," said Rep.
Rob Andrews, D-N.J. "I think most members believe that the compromise will let us honor our promise not to tax middle-class people."
"Dozens
of issues still needed to be finalized to reconcile bills passed
separately by the House and Senate, but several lawmakers said that in
the wake of the deal on the insurance plan tax, they felt a logjam had
been broken."
"Lawmakers were aiming to reach agreement on core elements of the bill as early as Friday and dispatch a package to the Congressional Budget Office to evaluate, a necessary step before votes are cast."
"Among the unsettled issues are how much Medicaid will be expanded — the House-passed bill took it to 150 percent of the
federal poverty level
whereas the Senate bill increased it to 133 percent — and the design of
new purchasing marketplaces called exchanges where consumers will shop
for and compare health plans that will have to meet government
criteria. The House bill calls for national exchanges while the Senate
takes a state-by-state approach, and negotiators were looking for a
possible hybrid of the two."
"Democrats hope to reach a final compromise in time for Obama's
State of the Union
address, likely early next month. Once they do, they intend a vote
first in the House, with a final showdown in the Senate. There, Majority Leader Harry Reid will need to corral 60 votes to clear the way for final passage."
"The deal reached by unions and the White House would tax family insurance plans worth $24,000, up from the $23,000. The average employer-sponsored family plan cost $13,375 in 2009, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The deal also would delay the tax until 2018 for policies covering workers in collective bargaining agreements."
"House Democrats had wanted
to raise income taxes on people making over $500,000 a year and
households over $1 million. Key Senate moderates balked at that, and
Obama pushed for the tax on insurance plans instead, arguing it would
help rein in spiraling
health care costs by nudging workers into less pricey coverage."
