Outrage over $400 million tax break for insurance executives under GOP Obamacare replacement plan
Source: MSN/CNBC
Democrats on Wednesday broadly blasted a proposed Obamacare replacement bill after learning the federal government would lose about $400 million in lost tax revenue over the next decade due to a sweet break for health insurers.
Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said that the tax break related to executive pay underscores the fact that the Republican replacement bill is "the beginning of a huge giveaway to the very, very wealthy," and the end of insurance coverage to millions of lower-income people.
"We're starting off... with essentially a giveaway to insurance executives," Levin said.
The proposed tax break, buried in cryptic language in the Republican plan, would allow health insurers to more fully deduct the value of their executives' compensation on their taxes. That compensation can be as high as tens of millions of dollars, in the case of CEOs of insurers.
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/outrage-over-dollar400-million-tax-break-for-insurance-executives-under-gop-obamacare-replacement-plan/ar-AAo1XOm
Not surprisingly, the health insurance lobby is one of the few health industry groups that has not condemned the bill:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/doctor-hospital-groups-line-up-against-gop-health-proposal/ar-AAo1s5o
Other industry trade groups have stayed largely neutral, including drugmakers and biotechnology companies. The health insurance lobby, America’s Health Insurance Plans, has yet to take a position on either side, though the group’s Chief Executive Officer Marilyn Tavenner said that “it’s important to us to keep as many members covered as possible.” She spoke at the group’s annual policy conference in Washington on Wednesday.
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