Political science’s Joseph White writes opinion article on reforming the Cadillac Tax

Headshot of Joseph White, political science professor at CWRUJoseph White, Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy, penned an opinion article for the Health Affairs Blog titled “Reform the ‘Cadillac Tax’ to target rich benefits, not high costs.”

He explains the tax as “a 40 percent excise tax on the cost of insurance coverage (including employer contributions to health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts) over a threshold, subject to a range of adjustments.”

While White agrees that it is appropriate to set a level for what benefits will be supported. He continues, “defining that in terms of a level of spending, as the law does, is not.”

He calls for a clear definition of relatively luxurious benefits.

A full breakdown of his proposal is available online.