UC Berkeley: Health Care Excise Tax Mainly Would Hit Non-Union Workers

A new study by the University of California's Berkeley Labor Center shows that non-union members would be equally hit by a health care excise tax.

Based on data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the analysis finds that at least 80 percent of the workers who would be hit by the tax in 2019 would be non-union employees. However, non-union members, like union members, would benefit from changes that union leaders negotiated with the White House and congressional leaders last month.

Those changes included a higher threshold before the tax on plans takes effect, adjustments for age, sex and high-risk professions, and a phased in exemption for dental and vision plans, among other improvements.

CWA still maintains that it's wrong for people covered by "Chevy" health plans to be the target of economists who thought they were going after "Cadillac" coverage and says funding mechanisms in the House plan, including an employer mandate and surtax on the wealthiest Americans, are a better approach. 

Read the full report here.