Obama-Care and the Cadillac Union Carve Out

Remember when Peter Orszag, the Secretary of the Office of Management and Budget in the current administration claimed that individuals with high cost insurance policies like those “Cadillac” plans were going to pay a 40% excise tax and there by reduce the cost of healthcare and also play a big role in funding Obama-Care? 

Well guess who has most of the Cadillac policies in this country?  As the song says, “just look for the Union Label.”  That’s right, all of our union brothers.  Did you really think Uncle Harry Ried and his Puppet Master Mr. Obama would tax these special interests?  What would the likes of Missouri Sen. Claire McKaskill and others who owe their seat in Congress to the Unions do?  Well here is the answer: Uncle Harry wrote a carve out in the managers amendment that specifically exempts individuals whose primary work is long shore work.  That would be the Longshoremens Union with one of the richest benefit plans in the country.  The carve out also applies to Mining, Electric/Utility workers, Lineman, EMTs, Construction Workers, some Farmers (if from Iowa and Sen. Tom Harkin is your man), Forestry (because we must protect the environment), Early Retirees (i.e. Government employees such as Senators and Congressmen) and others.  The Bill also exempts 17 states from the excise tax.  I would be willing make the prediction those would be the 17 states that voted for Mr. Obama in back in 2008.

This 11th hour deal destroys Mr. Orszag’s cost control theories and Mr. Obama’s cost control claims.  Remember that Government wise-men were going to make decisions on healthcare that were only in the public interest?  The reality, as shown by Uncle Harry, is that politics always trumps the public interest when Washington is directing the U.S. Health Insurance Industry that  is larger than the economy of France.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Obama-Care.