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No word from White House as Congress pushes for Cadillac tax changes

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Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers are hoping to make some broad changes to the Cadillac tax by the end of the year, but they say that the missing part is any word from the White House, according to The Hill.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers support changes to the measure--which would levy a 40 percent tax on high-cost health plans--and they are looking to hear from President Barack Obama about the measure before the end of 2015. It is still not clear whether or not Obama would veto the new proposed Cadillac tax package, according to the article.

"I hope we can work something out and I don't know what it might be," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told The Hill. "We're waiting to hear from the White House if they're open."

Obama has repeatedly expressed support for the tax, despite the mounting pressure from Congress to repeal or revise it. Unions have opposed the law, since it would increase the deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses that employees have to pay in a bid to avoid triggering the tax, according to the article. Opponents of the tax have said that if the tax could not be repealed completely, then they would be willing to reach a compromise.

The Cadillac tax is set to go into effect in 2018, and complete repeal of the tax would mean a $91 billion loss in revenue over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, The Hill notes. Another alternative is to delay the tax, or at least reduce the scope of plans that it affects. The effort to repeal it though, can count presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and a lobbying group that includes health insurer Cigna among its supporters.

To learn more:
- read The Hill article

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