For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The following statement should be attributed to James Gelfand, Senior Vice President of Health Policy, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), the only national association that advocates exclusively for large employers on health, retirement, and compensation public policies at the federal, state, and local levels:
“The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) is pleased that the Senate’s health care bill recognizes the important role employer-sponsored health insurance plays in providing health benefits to more than 178 million Americans. We appreciate the Senate’s efforts to reduce taxes that are passed on to health care purchasers and consumers, improve consumer-driven health options like Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and prevent cost-shifting by stabilizing the individual markets.
Most importantly, the Senate’s health care bill lays out a path to fully repeal the 40 percent ‘Cadillac’ excise tax on employer-sponsored health insurance. The ‘Cadillac’ tax is the most dangerous tax increase established by the Affordable Care Act, because it forces employers to scale back benefits and increasingly shift rising health care costs to employees. Full and final repeal of the Cadillac tax is essential to ensuring a healthy future for the employer-sponsored health insurance system.
ERIC will continue to work with lawmakers and the Administration as they work to craft a final health care bill.”