The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
United States Senate
The Honorable Harry Reid
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Dear Senators,
The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) represents the country’s largest and most prestigious companies across every sector of the economy. On behalf of ERIC’s members, I write to you today to ask for your support in repealing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 40 percent excise tax on employer-sponsored health care benefits and repeal of the employer mandate, as well as all employer reporting requirements relating to the individual or employer mandate.
The 40 percent excise tax does nothing to reach its purported goal of bringing down the cost of health care. The addition of the tax on top of the already rising costs of health care would actually limit the ability of ERIC members to continue offering high-quality, cost-efficient health care benefits. If employers are forced to limit their health benefits in order to avoid the tax, it could be detrimental to the health of millions of employees and their families. At a time when we should be supporting the middle class, these new burdens will have nothing but damaging effects.
ERIC also supports repeal of the ACA’s employer mandate and all related reporting requirements, provisions that would generate an extraordinary burden for employer group health plans without any corresponding benefit, while sowing confusion and uncertainty among employees.
ERIC urges you to relieve America’s companies from these unnecessary administrative and financial challenges. We look forward to working with you on measures that allow large employers to continue providing high-quality, efficient health benefits without these needless and expensive burdens.
Sincerely,
Annette Guarisco Fildes
President and CEO