Viewpoint: Congress has no business touching employer coverage

As members of Congress prepares to turn a critical eye to the healthcare industry in their upcoming bipartisan reform hearings, they should use their platform to protect employer-sponsored insurance, according to an op-ed written in The Hill by James Gelfand, senior vice president of health policy at The ERISA Industry Committee.

Mr. Gelfand argues that employer-sponsored coverage should maintain its tax-exempt status since that is what allows employers to provide their employees with robust benefit plans. He also calls on Congress to repeal the "Cadillac" tax, which he argues would affect more than half of the nation's workforce within 10 years of its implementation. He argues that it would increase the cost but lower the quality of employer coverage.

Mr. Gelfand also supports raising the contribution limits for health savings accounts, and believes Congress should amend HSA laws to allow consumers to use their HSAs to purchase over the counter medicine.

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