Union Cancels Press Events to Attack Cadillac Tax — Deal Close on Health Care?

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: For those reading tea leaves on how close a health care bill might be, here’s an intriguing tidbit: One of the nation’s most prominent unions has abruptly cancelled a series of nation-wide events organized to attack the so-called “Cadillac tax” on high-end health care plans. AFSCME — the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees — had scheduled about 20 events nation-wide for today, in conjunction with other local labor coalitions, to denounce the concept of taxing health care plans. The events, according to the press release sent out for one of them, were being held to “release a new study showing the local impact of a new tax some in Congress are proposing to help pay for health care reform — a tax that will mean higher costs and fewer benefits for thousands.” But as negotiations at the White House inch toward a conclusion, with leaders of unions including AFSME an integral part of the talks, it’s become increasingly obvious that the final health care bill is going to include at least some level of a tax on health care plans. And AFSCME today ordered the nation-wide events canceled. “We got word from DC that we’re just not doing them,” said one official in a local chapter, adding that no further explanation was given. An AFSCME spokesman confirmed that the events were ordered canceled, but declined to offer details. The news releases touted a report authored by Health Care for America Now, an organization that’s been harshly critical of the concept of taxing health care benefits. HCAN, which was also helping coordinate some of the local events, has now decided not to publish that report, at least for now, according to a spokeswoman, Jacki Schechner. “It appears the president and congressional leadership will have a deal on the excise tax in the next few days,” Schechner said. “We’ll have a statement on it, depending on what it is.”