The District-based George Washington University will offer a less expensive health care plan for employees in order to avoid paying nearly $1 million in additional Obamacare taxes, after a year of lobbying by faculty for a cheaper plan.
The plan comes after more than 160 faculty members signed a petition asking the university to increase contributions to insurance plans, and 132 faculty members who were enrolled on the old premium plan will be able to switch to a new plan, according to an article by the GW Hatchet, the student newspaper.
The Affordable Care Act in 2018 will begin to impose an excise tax on unusually expensive and comprehensive health insurance plans — known as “Cadillac” plans — which would have cost George Washington University just under $1 million in extra taxes if they had not switched to a new plan.
The plan is the first high-deductible plan offered by the university in recent history. George Washington University is one of many employers scrambling to change their health care plan due to a Cadillac tax which will have a 40 percent excise tax on any benefits valued at more than $10,200 a year.
The change has a lower annual charge and will help families by covering medical bills once the deductible is met, but it comes with a higher deductible. Families will pay around $1,400 this year to get on the plan.
A number of big employers and unions are facing pressure on Cadillac plans ahead of the 2018 deadline, with many shifting more of the costs of health coverage to their workers.
*An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of the payment change for plan participants.
• Mark Pace can be reached at mpace@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.