Movement on government takeover of health care

During the Presidential campaign, Obama attacked McCain over this issue more than any other one. In addition, McCain proposed an offset of taxing health care plans through employers with providing an individual deduction. No such luck here. In addition, earlier discussions were talking about exempting union members.

From the Politico:

White House officials are embracing a plan to tax "gold-plated, Cadillac" insurance policies, giving momentum to an idea that is receiving bipartisan consideration on Capitol Hill.

"A premium charge on top of the most expensive packages is one of the ways to ensure that there's a lid on health-care costs," a top administration official told POLITICO. "The president believes this is an intriguing idea."

Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Friday on Bloomberg TV that he is "taking an intense look at it."

And top House leadership official told POLITICO that the plan is "something we can live with."

The idea meshes with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's comments in recent interviews that the medical industry, including insurers, can do more to contribute to the cost of health-reform legislation.

Obama told Jim Lehrer of PBS' "NewsHour" on Monday: "What's being talked about now, I understand, is the possibility of penalizing insurance companies who are offering super, gold-plated Cadillac plans. . . .