Heritage Action opposes ‘Cadillac tax’ delay

Heritage Action is pushing back against talk of delaying for two years ObamaCare’s “Cadillac tax.”

The conservative group is calling on Republicans to resist the delay, arguing that it would stabilize ObamaCare and not undermine the law.

{mosads}“Despite what some Republicans may argue, a delay of the Cadillac tax would not undermine Obamacare, nor would it make full repeal more likely come 2017,” Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham wrote in an op-ed. “If any of those things were a possibility, President Barack Obama would have issued an immediate veto threat.

“Conservatives should therefore be skeptical of any such changes that look to delay bad provisions of Obamacare and aim to move in the opposite direction,” he adds, saying that the goal should be “undermining the law.”

A delay of the 40 percent tax on high-cost health insurance plans is expected to be included in a year-end package of tax breaks known as tax extenders.

Many Democrats are pushing for the delay, as unions are concerned the tax will shift health costs onto workers.

Republicans are set to agree to a deal that would delay the key ObamaCare tax, especially since they could also win possible suspensions of ObamaCare’s taxes on medical devices and health insurers.

Needham says Democrats want the delay in an effort to shield themselves from a politically unpopular part of the law. 

“Congressional Democrats are not genuinely interested in addressing the core policy problem,” he writes. “They are merely in search of a politically expedient solution.”