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With Obama set to unveil the pre-Scott Brown health care compromise for next week’s bipartisan lovefest, the already fragile deal is falling apart. Fresh off a stinging slap to the face in which Obama refused to appoint Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, labor unions are apparently backing out of the deal on the excise tax on high-cost health care plans.
An agreement to tax high-cost, employer-sponsored health insurance plans, announced with fanfare by the White House and labor unions last month, is losing support from labor leaders, who say the proposal is too high a price to pay for the limited health care package they expect to emerge from Congress. [...]
But labor leaders have backed away from the proposal in the wake of the special Senate election in Massachusetts.
“I do not believe there will be an excise tax enacted,” said Larry Cohen, president of the Communications Workers of America. “It appears that the administration and Congress will be taking a much more modest approach to health care reform. The cost and value of such reform would not justify using an excise tax.”
The AFL-CIO and allied members of Congress are backing away from the excise tax because they say it’s not popular with voters, as evidenced by Scott Brown’s election. The labor federation’s polling, in addition to finding that union members voted for Brown over Coakley, found the excise tax to be an unpopular idea that sent more voters to Brown.
But as a practical matter, labor leaders said, the excise tax was killed by the election in Massachusetts, where the Republican candidate, Scott Brown, won the Senate seat long held by Edward M. Kennedy.
“Fully 42 percent of voters believed the health care bill would tax employer health benefits, and these voters supported Brown by two to one,” Mr. Podhorzer said.
This is all very convenient, actually. The AFL-CIO has at an opportune moment thrown a wrench into Obama’s main priority right after they got screwed. Ten bucks says that these concerns would go away if he appointed Craig Becker to the NLRB during this week’s recess. If not, expect labor to continue to abandon the excise tax deal and kiss health care reform goodbye.
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I don’t see the nexus between the health care deal and Becker.
I may be misreading the signs, but it isn’t likely that Becker gets a recess appointment sometime in the near future, and that the HCR bill just continues to collapse under its own dead weight?
Obama still wants to pass HCR, but can’t do it without the excise tax deal in tact. No matter how realistic that is, it’s what Obama wants and believes, and labor is taking advantage of that.
Health Care Costs are too high, we need Health Care Reform.
I know, let’s add Excise Tax to health insurance.
Hmmm…but the quote from CWA’s Cohen could also be seen as a speculation that a downsizing of the HCR bill will eliminate the excise tax altogether, without specific reference to the AFL-CIO’s individual carve-out of the tax.
In any event, Becker’s nomination is now entirely symbolic. My guess is that he receives the recess appointment in the next couple of weeks, and then gets regular confirmation next year when the Republicans have moved on to other issues.
Citizen alan1tx:
If we hafta have the excise tax to get healthcare reform then let’s get Obama to recess appoint Becker…quid pro quo and put a boot in Rahm Emmanuel’s ass.
Labor has check the direction of the political winds.
The poilical winds are blowing away from Barack Obama
Obama, Robert Gibbs, David Axelrod, and David Plouffe have a huge problem, the Barack Obama Brand is falling a part.
With Labor leaving the HCR scam, few Dems are going to carry this HCR scam for Barack Obama
Barack Obama has loss control of
the left
the house of rep (nancy is pissed)
the senate (harry and his members are jumping ship)
labor
the middle (this illusion is dead)
conserverdem (evan bayh want be the only one jumpsing ship)
Obama is making friends with Hoover
FDR is turning over in his grave
Good thinking. And then we can throw in some extra deductibles, just to be sure.
I’m not taking any of the quotes on their surface – to me it seems perfectly designed. It sends the right external message while they’re pressing the inside game.
This tax on on “cadallac plans” is the best example of stupidity yet seen. It alienates all sides.
It is cynicle at base: Penalize unions, make them share the hard won “rewards” of generations who fought to bring in improvements, that could be expanded widely, to the larger society, their (pioneering… IOWs. )
Make them share the gains with all those who are with out, HC, and then the escape clause that engenders jealousy at the last minute: exemplting some of the unions from that.
Tax the thing that is supposed to be the end product. Stupid and diabolical, but it is typical of the direction to which these fools are inclined to go. They “do harm,” they don’t get it.
No leadership, understatement!
Why should labor give up anything at all for a healthcare plan which does not truely solve the nations healthcare issues?
Obama’s healthcare reform is 100% about keeping the health insurance industry fat and happy. Everything else in the plan pretty much amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul.
If Obama actually wanted to fix healthcare he’d be pushing for a single payer system. Or at the very least he’d be pushing for a public option that could act as a transition to single payer.
Labor unions shouldn’t give up a damn thing for this crap.
Good idea.
Another way to bring down health care costs is to force everyone to buy insurance.
I can’t afford that new house, but if Congress forces me to buy homeowners insurance too, then maybe I will be able to affort the house payments better.
Your remark :
“It sends the right external message while they’re pressing the inside game.”
Everything they do, and are, can be looked at under that lense. All “pie in the sky” benevolent lead ons, while their dirty deals move forward. The more “hope’ and the bigger promise, should always be a tip off. That is a sure scam, health care reform, with out single payer is a joke.
I’m sure I’m in the minority, but I like the idea of the excise tax. Here’s why. I’m a small business owner. Health insurance/health financing is a big cost to me, and it is going up at too fast a rate (17% again this year, and my 3 employees have fantastic health ratings). I think this is because there is no real market for it. Employers make most of the decisions about it, not the people who use it. I would propose that *ALL* health benefits are taxed (because it is compensation), but with some stipulations:
1) Employers must offer their employees the option of receiving the amount of money spent on the plan as cash compensation. Based on my employees, this would be like getting a 10-15% raise.
2) Put all plan sales on the exchanges, like a national clearinghouse.
I really don’t care about the union benefits, but if they get the cash instead, they would be fine. Let them advise their members if they think that would help. Really, employment should not be the gateway to health care.
Start over is the best idea that could happen.
The existing bill will do NOTHING to lower health care costs. It attacks insurance companies as if THEY are the ones billing for medical services.
When the hospital bills $5,000 for a procedure up from $4,000, it doesn’t matter what kind of insurance you have or how much the CEO is paid; the price is going to go up.
It is the costs that are out of control, not insurance–except nice to change pre-existing conditions policy. My brother’s hospital bill for a two day stay and no surgery was $12,000!! THAT’s the problem, not Blue Cross.
Let’s start over and get it done right.
For labor, getting a working NLRB may be more important than health care reform at this point in time.
Though widely not acknowledged conviently enough, taxes main purpose is penalty and or confiscation.
The bills can always be paid by other means, IE: Tarrifs, (look it up… ) and monetary easing, if nothing else. Why add cost on it by taxation, taxes are something to be “externalized”, ie: you get somebody else to pay em.
Asking for a new tax is slightly suspect from the small business contingent…
I agree, labor shouldn’t have to give anything up because health care costs are too high.
The people giving something up should be the people profiting off the health care industry.
That includes everyone in Health Insurance, Pharma, Hospitals, Doctors, Nurses and everyone else in health care. That’s where the high costs are. How about a progressive tax on everyone profiting from health care, after all, it’s a human right, why should they be getting rich.
Anyone working in health care making over $100K to $500K pays 10% tax, from $500K to $5M pays 50% tax, and over $5M per year pays 90% tax.
All that money goes to pay the health care for anyone who can’t afford it.
Let those profiting pay the way.
I don’t have any figures to back this up, but I really doubt that nurses are getting rich. And they work so hard. I am not a nurse but am a huge supporter of good nursing care.
Hey. Labor- the Democrats hate your fucking guts (NAFTA), so how about putting your backbone to your wishbone, eh?!
Just tell us where the protests are being held and we’ll be there, dingbats.
I’m hoping that labor will lead the charge against the phony, albeit “likeable” and intelligent, in the WH.
Citizen Twain:
“The people giving something up should be the people profiting off the healthcare industry…Hospitals, Doctors, Nurses…”
I think we’ve been punked Citizen Twain…anyone who thinks that the workers in ANY industry but especially a service industry are gettin’ rich or even make enough to “give something up” live on another planet or…dare we say the “T”-word?
My daughter had a four hour e.r. visit two years ago and it cost $24,000.
Lots of new nursing grads are having a hard time finding jobs.
I agree 100%.
wonder why, given the boom in boomers entering into the market for plumbing repairs?
L1 visas?
Labor is Charlie Brown to this Administration’s Lucy with the football. EFCA, getting stiffed on healthcare, and the Becker appointment. Hey, labor, wake up and smell the coffee. This President and the Democrats just aren’t into you. Like progressives, labor needs to cut the umbilical with the Democrats. They don’t represent us. They work agaist us. They are not our friends or allies and we should stop thinking of them as if they were.
This is why I do not understand all of these posts on ZOMG a Democrat might lose somewhere. Who cares? Republicans in contol or Democrats, we are screwed either way.
Also, Michael, I want to take issue with your assertion that Obama’s failure to give Craig Becker a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board last week is a slap in the face to labor.
A slap in the face would have been to withdraw the nomination, and put forward a new nominee who is more pro-business. He hasn’t done that, and I don’t think he will. In fact, there have been strong hints that the recess appointment of Becker is just around the corner.
The problem with Becker’s appointment is not at the White House, it’s at the National Association of Manufacturers and at the office of Mitch McConnell.
Once again, a Michael Whitney piece on labor that totally misses the mark and strays from the usually fact-based FDL style.
Your entire premise is wrong!! Labor is saying there should be no excise tax period – not that there should be no deal exempting them. They’re going further, not back. They never supported an excise tax in the first place.
Your piece has zero relation to reality.
Nurses are NOT getting wealthy, Twain, and we haven’t enough of them as it is.
Nor are many doctors.
Alan1tx has mistakenly “lumped” them in with the ones, primarily “executives” whether of the insurance “industry” or the larger “providers” and those not directly involved in actual care, who profit obscenely, in my perspective, as well, too many hospitals are using their tax-exempt status to dominate their local areas, especially those connected to universities.
At least this is what I have observed and gathered from those involved in health care and research.
DW
Free market fundamentalism and Labor, eh?
Square that one up for me, please.
I agree with Hugh, as usual. Labor should just gives the Ds the shove. It is pointless to be in the Ds’ pockets.
On edit: I forgot about being invited to all those neetsy parties. Guess the union leaders don’t want to give that up.
The workers in health care have already been put through the wringer, and need appreciation .
Also, Doctors, though they often fly airplanes, play golf, and etc, have material success, and can be real ah’s
I would be in favor of giving them a catagorical PASS on it for the time being, they are our version of ( witch… doctors, shamans, what ever, they are indespensible,) and should be off limits… just because.
Focus on the industrial end of things, (Wrap the financial and insurance when you get serious.) make a scematic of the money flows and it ain’t the workers.
I’ll get on board with that.
(Also with the edit)
BTW, Private Equity firms are deep into the hospital industry.
Listen to the NPR Fresh Air interview with Josh Kosman:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120391729
In a nutshell, Private Equity firms buy companies, load them with debt, then cost cut(cut staff, avoid buying equipment) to make the firm look more profitable and allow them to sell/flip it in a couple years.
The bizzaro thing is that when a PE firm buys a company the purchase cost becomes the debt of the company(not the PE firm). And these companies get fliped over and over… piling up balloon payment style debts. It all goes POOF between 2012-2015.
Many of our hospitals have been turned into “greater fool” ponzi schemes.
This entire healthcare system needs to be torn apart and replaced.
I have no objections to doctors making a lot of money. Most of them have huge loans to repay and even after that they have lots of overhead. I prefer doctors who have lots of satisfied patients which usually demonstrates skill.
Thanks. Didn’t know that.
There outta be a law.
Yeah, Private Equity firms debt load the hospitals.
They also raise prices while squeezing the staff to make the hospitals seem more profitable so they can flip them at a profit.
I have to wonder if the rank and file are gettin’ a little fed up with Trumka and Stern cozying up with the neoliberals. Neither the administration nor Congress are interested in doing anything for the unions. When it comes to unions they’re all Dixiecrats.
Capitalism needs to be ‘torn apart and replaced’, but to do that we need the public to exercise more than just their keyboard skills.
Hey, take it easy on Michael. He is doing a good job under difficult circumstances.
While I don’t think the current Senate bill actually attacks insurance companies very much, it is certainly true that the problem of increasing health care costs is generally not addressed. The only piece that seemed to have that as a goal was the excise tax with it’s “bend the curve” philosophy. The fact that it went about it backasswards being more or less because of the fear of the “death panels” label which was preemptively introduced into the conversation, Palin style.
The problem for market believers like Obama is there really is no way to cut medical care costs that does not reduce bottom line profitability of the top heavy parts of health care system. Health care cost controls, as they are usually done would require government intervention into costs and qualifying procedures, as insurance companies currently already do. The goal of the excise tax is to slowly debilitate the employer contributions via a progressive cap on health insurance, forcing costs via copays to overwhelm those with health insurance and medical problems. The hope being that this would only effect the malingerers who only imagine that they are sick enough to require health care.
Bending the curve in the most market driven, least regulatory, way possible: by removing money for health care from those with medical problems that require, or at least believe they need, health care via insurance spending. As if starving the beast would make it less hungry.
Givem the ol’ heave ho.
and go over to.. the “other side” like where?
On the other hand it is the right idea. but now there is talk of what is called: “Captured government.”
and a “captured mass media,” and the list goes on, of captured things. Well maybe everybody is captured, other than the free spirits in bloggland. That is to say that unions may not be all they could. It don’t need much more description, but since the 30s, there was a certain tolerance, that allowed a certain amount of loud talk, which at least keeps some of the ideas alive. but only.
Absolutely.
I think it is mainly a bay area situation. Nationwide it is not as easy as it used to be to find a nursing position but not terrible yet. In the bay area recently at a hospital in walnut creek there were 2000 apps for 14 positions. So many people have lost health insurance that hospitals aren’t admitting the numbers they need.
The country as well.
The cocktail weenies are to die for.
Work on grass roots to build up something more labor friendly. It does no good to pretend. In fact it gets in the way of real progress.
So I’ve heard. Isn’t it quail wings and eye of newt, though?
they are the one who is going in there and saving your life or your loved ones life, In the end I say they get a special dispensation, I say this is a real good place to reactivate unfettered competition, let the best come to the top. The more the merrier, and that does not mean lower standards, hopefully.
The kind of money that goes to doctors, is nothing compared to what’s grifting away in the system. And take the comment made here above of the corporate merger mania and ponsi sceme nature of it.
You can disagree without being disagreeable.
Hey, I’m looking at recipes on another window. Yours sounds yummy. (And yes, I know where it comes from.)
There’s a great scene in Felini’s Satyricon of a banquet at a rich nobleman’s villa. The best image of decadence brought to the silver screen. I have little doubt that the soirees within the Beltway would rival those of Rome.
Keyboard skillz are a good start. At this point people know they are getting ripped off but they do not fully understand the “who” and “how” of it.
People probably don’t understand the criminal roll that Private Equity plays in healthcare costs. So they rage at the wrong targets: doctors, nurses, shady lawyers etc…
I suppose we ought to remind everyone again that candidate Obama campaigned against the health care excise tax.
That was then and this is now. Obama’s new clothes were passed down from GWB.
Except for the Indian State Dinner that Obama did, I think they are only modestly fancy affairs. But how would I know, I’ve never been to one.
About time labor got some balls! Tell Obama to screw himself. He’s done nothing for Labor (the Lilly Ledbetter act, big deal). He and Rahm are destroying the Democratic Party.
I wasn’t talking about WH dinners but those of the courtesans in and around DC. You know, Sally Quinn, David Brooks et al.
T-party leaders meeting with Michael Steele.
You get off your ass, stop typing shit, and put raise a ruckus, and voila – the party notices you.
Is there a lesson here for liberals?!
We’ve done everything to get attention except dance naked in front of the WH. Haven’t a clue what we could do next to catch the attention of He-Who-Is-In-Charge.
Interesting that you mention the Lilly Ledbetter bill.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Ledbetter bill was not the creature of organized labor, but the creature of the trial lawyers lobby. And it had already passed through Congress before Obama took office.
Communism died with Lenin in 1924. Even Marx gave up on his utopia by 1851. Castro is the only one who followed Stalin’s methods and even the Chinese are slooooowly weaning themselves off Mao’s ideology. Marx had the best answer in Vol 1 of Capital – state regulated capitalism.
High five on that
but you don’t get there with electing either party to power.
Now who here is surprised that Barry abandoned the working class folks of the labor movement?
Communism did not die. America is communist. Communism is when government owns all the means of production. That is defacto the case now in the once good ole US of A. Look at virtually any major corporation… health care insurance you name it. Look at who owns it… Practically ALL of them have at least 80% “institutional” ownership. What are “institutions”? They are government funds (every city every state every county the federal government every school board etc. so forth) have “institutional” funds that “OWN” this country. Here’s the catch… ALL of those funds (over 110 trillion last count) are controlled by a very small group of apparatchik that do the elites’ bidding. THIS IS THE PROBLEM! America is communist complete with the corruption through and through! PS the transition began in the forties with a law change see cafr1.org
you got it backwards about the ownership bit, imo. But some linkies to support your opinion would be appreciated.
Fascism – yup. Communism – hah!
I hear you, but I feel this piece called for an outspoken denunciation. It reminded me of only one other piece – when Michael Whitney attacked the unions for not negotiating an excise tax exemption for non union members, despite the fact they were in fact taking that extraordinary unprecedented step of negotiating on behalf of non-members. And as I read the above news, it appears they are continuing to do that, which Michael Whitney claimed to want, yet all it has done is inspire fresh attacks from him. The 180 degree relation to reality of these attacks really suggests something is amiss. Perhaps Michael Whitney has an agenda against unions. I don’t know what it is, but it’s out of character for FDL and I feel it needs to be called out.
Fascism assumes the corporations are sovereign but are in-league with government (like a bunch of individually weak sticks bound together making them strong). Communism is where government owns and controls all. I submit government OWNS (see CAFR1.org for links gallore) AND controls it all (thats communism)… These corporations do what their major share holders want. Most are 80% owned by “institutions”. Take Boeing for instance… When “government” says jump… they say HOW HIGH. That is communism. But its just words… and that misses the larger point… transnational elite control.
There is no way you will raise your employees wages by next years health care costs, and then give raises to cover future costs.
And Employee influence on premium charged is nil – but then only slightly less than employer influence.
If you really want to hold down costs forget taxation and force non-profit via regulation at the Federal level – along with regulatory approval for next years coverages and premium charged under every policy to be offered.
Hey – that would make all those policies “inter-state” policies so I guess the GOP would be in favor – right?
Insurance companies as non-profits tightly controlled can be an alternative to single payer – but you will not see that – either – in America in the next couple of years.
Yes, I appreciate the sentiment, but appeal for some practicality.
Let’s use the next three years of the Obama administration to pull the Democratic Party in our direction. It will be hard work, for sure, the alternative is worse.
It attacks ins co’s because it is the ins co’s that are running death panels – treating every claim as a drag on profits.
Unregulated for profit ins co’s are the problem – they need to either be tightly regulated, or to be replaced as the front end via the passing of the single payer Medicare for all concept (the ins co’s would be still the backend claims payers – but without the motivation to deny claims so as to get larger CEO bonus). Ultimately toys for boys must be regulated so that we do not find ourselves funding MRI machines in every clinic, doctor, and every chiropractor’s office (see X-Ray machine sales to chiropractors who have no radiology training for the past history of toys for boys – chiropractors have a lot of influence on state legislators and force their billings to be included in “basic care”).
Late to this one, but Michael, given the watered down POS the present HCR looks like in The Senate, I’m all FOR labor abandoning it, for ANY reason!
I’d hate to think that the NLRB appointment would bring labor back on board with the POS legislatoin, but it’s likely, ain’t it . . sigh.
Thanks for the labor update on HCR, I’d not seen this info and appreciate your work in bringing to The Lake!
Can’t post links I guess.. (it was deleted for some reason) anywho.. Go to Google video and search cafr which stands for the comprehensive annual financial report and watch Burien’s 2000 video (the 2000′s were very good to collective government… they now own in excess of 110 trillion and about 80 of the stock outstanding in the NYSE)
Norske, how does passing the POS Senate legislation that Obama and Rahm WANT put a boot in Rahm’s ass?
KILL THE SENATE BILL!!!
FORCE PUBLIC OPTION BACK ON THE TABLE!!!
Save reconciliation for later in the process.
Nicely crafted . . . thanks.
Given there IS no HCR at this time, of any value to the masses (House Version, sure, but we’ll never see it passed), your comment is spot phreaking on!!! Good one.
The 1982 Rand study that is the basis for pushes bigger co-pays so as to get “malingers” out of the doctor’s office – the result you predict for the excise tax – was based on 2000 families, 6000 persons followed 3 to 5 years, that concluded seeing health care provider did only small goodness for your health, and that a small deductible – the $10 co-pay – was effective in decreasing costs without decreasing positive health outcomes.
From this we get the crazy stretch that a $2000 deductible is even better in decreasing costs without hurting outcomes – which leads to the proven health outcome disaster that is Health savings accounts matched to high deductible insurance – where the ins remains costly because we still must fund those CEO bonuses, and the outcomes suffer because everyone tries to “save” by avoiding both preventive care and care for “minor” problems.
My neighbor for 7 years is an RN, certified in three things I forget.
He attends to the delivery of drugs, gases and such to put patients under during surgery.
He makes $75 an hour while on the job, $15 an hour ON CALL for 8 hours within any 24 hour period.
He sometimes works 12 hours a day, and still gets on call hours for the time he’s at home in that period.
When he’s NOT working he’s working online on his NP schooling, and has his NP residency lined up.
He’ll make MORE money as an NP, once he completes his residency.
DURING his residency, he will also be ON CALL, for the other skills he has and work THOSE surgeries as he can.
He ain’t hurting. This is CA, Sacto, BTW. And yes, nurses are having a hard time finding work in the major metro areas because of foreign entry level nurses taking the lower paying starting jobs . . . but nurses are still in demand. I can’t explain MaryMac’s daughters sitch . . . it’s unusual, according to my neighbor.
A 140 bed hospital in a nearby city used to operate at full capacity. Now, however, the hospital only uses 40 beds and it’s going to have to layoff lots of nurses and other staff to remain afloat. The population in the area hasn’t changed and there are just as many sick people who should be hospitalized, but most are uninsured and they can’t afford to pay for health care.
This situation is not uncommon throughout the country and we may even see some hospitals closing down.
Realty reversed is the only way to get to your view – in my opinion.
I spent 45 years in management and we told gov what we wanted and gov jumped.
Your example of Boeing is esp. interesting as it shows you do not understand the contract rewrite procedure. Every time Boeing runs into trouble meeting a spec in a contract they won, they get the gov to change the contract – at even more profit – and the Gov (defense establishment) jumps to obey them.
As for community funds controlling anything, I’m afraid you do not have good data on the size of those funds and the rules under which they operate – indeed the monies hidden by the 13000 richest families – the folks that set up those “Swiss citizen that write a check for $20 billion to make the latest JPMorgan tax avoidance scheme work” – are really not into telling gov anything other than “do not try to trace the wealth, and do not tax the wealth you know about”. Management post Reagan stopped being employees of the shareholders and now is the “elite class” that you reference – indeed they are the new rich and want what the old rich want – again, “do not try to find out how much wealth we have taken out of the system and do not try to tax us – or we will get Fox Cable News to flood the airways with lies and smears as we fund think tanks that report how you are stopping prosperity” – forget that the real research shows the opposite of what the paid for lies employees of those think tanks put out.
What, ya gonna dig Stalin up and put him in charge? The guys I saw at Marxism 2009 ain’t gonna cut it and I doubt Bob Avakian is interested.
Oh, they’ll go a lot farther than that. As some US presidents have found out.
The only good news is that they aren’t entirely a monolithic group.
what is zomg?
zomg urban dictionary