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Obama Said to Be Open to Taxing Health-Care Benefits
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Contributor | kal |
Last Edited | kal Jun 03, 2009 05:19am |
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Category | General |
Media | Newspaper - Wall Street Journal |
News Date | Wednesday, June 3, 2009 11:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
Description | Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus on Tuesday indicated that President Barack Obama may be warming to the idea of taxing employer-provided health-care benefits to pay for an overhaul of the nation's health system. But the White House, and a key Democratic senator, quickly shot down the idea that the president has had a change of heart.
Mr. Obama met with 24 Democratic senators at the White House Tuesday afternoon to talk about legislation they are crafting to overhaul the nation's health system. Senators said afterwards that the president wants a bill signed by October.
In remarks before the meeting, Mr. Obama reiterated his pledge to enact legislation that will reduce health-care costs and provide coverage to uninsured Americans. "We cannot avoid bringing about change in our health care system," he said.
To fund those changes, many Democrats and Republicans agree, the government has to begin taxing some portion of the health-care benefits that companies provide to their employees. The problem is that Mr. Obama firmly opposed this idea on the campaign trail.
But Sen. Baucus of Montana strode out of Tuesday's meeting and signaled that the president might change his view. Asked whether Mr. Obama indicated he would be open to changing the tax exemption, Mr. Baucus said it is "something he might consider."
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