Unions: 1 – Republicans: 0?
The Hill is reporting that labor unions may be the big winners in the budget deal emerging in the US Senate.
The compromise would reportedly make only small adjustments to the Affordable Care Act and delay the law’s reinsurance fee for a year. The tax is universal to all the plans, but it was a major topic of discussion at a recent AFL-CIO convention where union members voted to demand changes to the law. The fee was supposed to generate revenue for three years for the purpose of stabilizing premiums as sick patients begin entering the risk pool.
New news is that the budget deal would raise the debt ceiling until mid-February. It would also reopen the government, with enough funding to last until January 15th. House Republicans are not likely to react positively to a bill that gives them little concessions, while unions would get a major one.
The push to repeal the medical device tax has been taken off the table. Supporters claim that the $30 billion in revenue it will generate is needed to implement Obamacare successfully.
