Orshe

A bit of Washington health-reform action from one of yesterday’s Sunday morning news shows.

Chuck Grassley and David Axelrod both talked health care on ABC’s This Week. Grassley plumped for the idea of taxing high-end health benefits. Axelrod said President Obama prefers funding health reform by limiting tax deductions for people making more than $250,000 a year — but wouldn’t rule out going along with a tax on benefits, if that’s what Congress passes.

A key quote from Grassley:

…we shouldn’t be subsidizing high-end health insurance policies that drive up inflation in health insurance, maybe, one or two percentage points of the seven or eight that it goes up every year.

George Stephanopoulos, the host, asked Axelrod whether Obama would go along with such a tax — which could go against the president’s pledge not to raise taxes on people making less than $250,000 a year.

Part of Axelrod’s answer:

The president had said in the past that he doesn’t believe taxing health care benefits at any level is necessarily the best way to go here. He still believes that.

But there are a number of formulations and we’ll wait and see. The important thing at this point is to keep the process moving, to keep people at the table, to the keep the discussions going. … one of the problems we’ve had in this town is that people draw lines in the sand and they stop talking to each other. And you don’t get anything done.

You can read the complete transcript here. Here’s more coverage from the Washignton Post and Politico.

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Grassley Pushes Tax on Health Benefits; Axelrod Won’t Rule It Out