President Barack Obama's chief economic advisor said Wednesday the administration is willing to be a little bit more flexible with the unpopular "Cadillac tax," in an effort to keep the tax in place, according to The Hill.
Jason Furman, the chief economic advisor, said the government would be open to raising the threshold for when employers have to start paying the tax in areas where healthcare is more expensive, according to the report.
If the excise tax on high-cost employer health plans is not implemented, nor are the Affordable Care Act's other two main revenue-generating taxes, it would cost the government $256 billion in the first 10 years, according to an analysis from economist Paul Van de Water, PhD. This cost spikes to $850 billion over the next two decades, and most of the revenue will be generated through the Cadillac tax, according to Dr. Van de Water.
Opponents still want the tax repealed, while supporters maintain it is one of the most important cost-control measures in the ACA, according to The Hill.
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