Administration’s outline also has a potential impact on Flex Plans
Last week, the Obama Administration released its (final) budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year. And although presidential budgets are usually viewed as highly partisan documents, there are a few noteworthy provisions in this particular budget proposal that will be of interest to TASC Providers / Clients.
Cadillac Tax Changes
As ACA supporters attempt to ease the opposition toward this controversial policy item, which is unpopular with both political parties,* the administration is backing what they’ve dubbed “sensible improvements” in an effort to decrease the likelihood that employer plans will trigger the excise tax.
Health plan costs by geographic regions
Under the proposal, a health plan would be considered high cost and subject to the tax if it exceeded the greater of the current law threshold ($10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage) or a new “gold plan average premium” which would be determined/calculated and published for each state.** A family multiplier would be applied to this amount to create the family threshold. This reform is intended to protect employers from paying the tax only because they are in high-cost locales and ensure that the penalty remains targeted at the appropriate population (i.e. those with overly generous plans).
GAO study
The President’s budget also requires that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study the potential effects of the excise tax on entities with unusually sick employees…presumably leading to legislative measures if the study finds that such firms are adversely impacted.
FSA salary reduction
Currently, each employee’s actual FSA salary reduction contribution is counted in determining whether the cost of coverage for that employee exceeds the limit and is subject to the excise tax. But under the new recommendations, employers would determine the average amount of FSA salary reduction contributions for similarly situated employees and use that average amount in determining the cost of coverage.
Elimination of Dependent Care FSAs
As part of the administration’s attempt to increase the child and dependent care tax credit and create a larger credit for taxpayers with children under the age of 5, dependent care FSAs would no longer be permitted. The executive branch believes that the new credits would provide better assistance to families with children then is currently available through a dependent care FSA.
Of course, the budget request of a president in his final year in office – particularly one facing a hostile Congress – is unlikely to lead to enacted legislation. That said, this proposal at least offers an insight into some of the interesting options that the next president might pursue, depending on his/her political leanings.
Overall, these provisions simply fall short of the mark and do not address TASC’s core concerns; in fact, they seem to be just as – if not more – administratively complex than the rule it attempts to replace. While we appreciate recognition of the budget’s implicit acknowledgment that the excise tax is imposed inequitably on those who live in high-cost geographic areas, this adjustment completely disregards the other uncontrollable factors that are used to calculate the tax, as well as the detrimental effects the tax could have on employer-sponsored health care plans.
The Cadillac Tax does nothing to help reduce the cost of health care or improve its quality. Instead, it places unparalleled financial challenges on employers, siphoning off resources that otherwise could sustain or improve benefits for workers and their families. Therefore, TASC continues to support full repeal of the tax or at the very least a carve-out exempting contributions to FSAs, HRAs and HSAs from the tax’s calculation.
* Clear bipartisan majorities of both the House and Senate have voted to repeal the tax, and ALL presidential hopefuls – including both Democratic candidates – have also publicly called for repeal.
** A “gold” level plan is a tier of coverage found on a state-based or federally-facilitated public marketplace; would be calculated based on a weighted average of the lowest cost (self-only) silver level plans, multiplied (by 8/7) to simulate the cost of an actuarially equivalent gold plan.
