Clinton joins call to repeal ACA's Cadillac tax

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton announced Tuesday that she is in favor of repealing the hotly debated Cadillac tax, which places a 40 percent tariff on individual health insurance plans that cost more than $10,200 a year and family plans that cost more than $27,500 starting in 2018. 

In addition to her already proposed plan to improve the Affordable Care Act, which aims to lower out-of-pocket costs and enforce price transparency, Clinton's latest announcement says that "too many Americans are struggling to meet the cost of rising deductibles and drug prices. That's why, among other steps, I encourage Congress to repeal the so-called Cadillac Tax, which applies to some employer-based health plans, and to fully pay for the cost of repeal."

The cost to repeal the provision, which is about $80 billion over 10 years, should be offset with some other changes Clinton has proposed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Clinton's campaign has noted that her proposal would raise more than $100 billion over 10 years.

Clinton is not alone in her disapproval of the provision. Both sides of the political spectrum have voiced their concerns--at the end of August, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) unveiled plans to introduce legislation to repeal the tax in the Senate, while an organization known as the Alliance to Fight the 40, which includes major employer groups and health insurer Cigna, has begun its lobbying effort against the tax.

Meanwhile, House Republicans advanced legislation Tuesday to dismantle parts of the Affordable Care Act by using a process known as reconciliation, which allows them to bypass the Senate, reports the Associated Press. While President Barack Obama is likely to veto such a measure, Congress could use the same method succesfully if a Republican took the White House, the AP notes.

For more:
- here's Clinton's announcement 
- read the WSJ article 
- check out the AP piece