Bill passed to kill ACA Cadillac Tax: Is this finally the end?

A new bill to gut many major provisions of the Affordable Care Act has been passed in the Senate, and even though there’s little chance the current version of this legislation will remain intact, some sections — particularly those centering on the Cadillac Tax — may actually come to fruition.  

The ACA-reducing legislation — H.R. 3762 in the House of Representatives— is part of a broader budget reconciliation bill.

If passed, the bill would kill the following Obamacare provisions:

• The ACA’s Cadillac Tax, which requires employers to pay a 40% excise tax on the value of any healthcare coverage that exceeds $10,200 for single coverage or $27,500 for families in premium costs starting in 2018.
• The $2,000-per-employee penalty on applicable large employers (ALEs) who don’t offer healthcare coverage to at least 70% of their full-time employees in 2015, and 95% of their employees beginning in 2016
• The $3,000 per-employee penalty imposed on ALEs when employees who are eligible for a federal premium subsidy — and aren’t offered affordable health coverage — and use it to purchase coverage on a public health insurance exchange, and
• the 2.3% federal excise tax imposed on manufacturers of medical devices.

Part of key expiring tax code legislation?

The White House has already stated that President Obama will veto this measure and, based on the fact the bill narrowly passed the Senate, there’s no reason to believe proponents could garner enough votes to overturn that veto.

However, here’s where it could get interesting. Some experts believe at least some of the ACA repeal provisions of the current bill — specifically the Cadillac Tax repeal — could be included in the “must pass” legislation to extend expiring tax code provisions. That legislation could be introduced as early as next week.

We’ll keep you posted.