The President's stand on 10 key benefit issues
January 20, 2017 12:30 PM
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The president’s stand on 10 key benefit issues
The inauguration of Donald Trump pushes key benefit issues to the spotlight. So where does he stand on healthcare costs, parental leave, the Affordable Care Act, minimum wage and other important workplace issues? Here’s what employers need to know.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Health plans
Trump supports consumer-driven health plans. And his proposed healthcare plan calls for tax-free HSAs and greater access and portability of CDHPs. Contrarily, Clinton did not express any expansion on the initiative.
He also supports a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s Cadillac tax — excise tax on employer plans exceeding $10,200 in premiums per year for individuals and $27,500 for families.
He also supports a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s Cadillac tax — excise tax on employer plans exceeding $10,200 in premiums per year for individuals and $27,500 for families.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
ACA/Single payer
Trump has continually criticized the Affordable Care Act — especially in the wake of recent 25% premium increases and the withdrawal of several major insurers. He supports complete repeal of the ACA, including the individual mandate to have coverage. In lieu of requiring insurers to provide coverage to everyone regardless of health status, he said he would work with states to create high risk pools for individuals who have not maintained continuous coverage. In place of refundable premium tax credits, Trump would provide a tax deduction for the purchase of individual health insurance.
Still, Trump still wants to keep some parts of the law, including the pre-existing condition exclusion provisions.
Still, Trump still wants to keep some parts of the law, including the pre-existing condition exclusion provisions.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Healthcare costs
Trump proposes to increase consumer choice, provide individual tax relief for health insurance and keep plans portable and affordable. He also seeks to break health insurance company monopolies and allow individuals to buy insurance across state lines.
John Taggart/Bloomberg
Retirement plans
Trump has said he “will do everything within my power” not to touch Social Security — that includes not raising the retirement age, cutting benefits, raising the Social Security payroll “tax cap” (the $118,500 ceiling on earnings subject to FICA taxes) or altering Social Security’s annual Cost of Living Adjustments.
Though retirement savings — or lack thereof — is a big area of concern for Americans, Trump has been fairly silent about what he will do to help.
Though retirement savings — or lack thereof — is a big area of concern for Americans, Trump has been fairly silent about what he will do to help.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Minimum wage
He has said the minimum wage should be up to the states but has also talked about a $10-an-hour federal floor.
Equal pay
Trump has been criticized for flip-flopping on the issue: The new president-elect said last year that men and women deserve “equal pay for equal work,” but later dismissed the idea of a gender pay gap.
Sean Proctor/Bloomberg
Prescription drugs
Trump says the cost of prescriptions drugs needs to drop. He supports allowing government-run Medicare to set drug prices to reduce the growth in healthcare costs.
Ty Wright/Bloomberg News
Parental leave
He promises “six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.” His plan outlined on his website does not mention if the policy applies to same-sex parents. He says his maternity leave policy will be completely paid for through the unemployment insurance program.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Subsidized childcare
Childcare should not exceed more than 10% of a family’s budget, yet families below the poverty line spend nearly 30% of their income on childcare, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Trump’s childcare policy allows families with a stay-at-home parent to deduct the average cost of childcare from their taxes through an Earned Income Tax Credit. “For low-income individuals who have no net income tax liability, we will offer an expanded earned income tax credit, that’s EITC, in the form of a childcare rebate,” he says. “Working parents can get an expanded EITC benefit that equals up to half of their total payroll tax, a major relief for low-income parents.”
Trump’s childcare policy allows families with a stay-at-home parent to deduct the average cost of childcare from their taxes through an Earned Income Tax Credit. “For low-income individuals who have no net income tax liability, we will offer an expanded earned income tax credit, that’s EITC, in the form of a childcare rebate,” he says. “Working parents can get an expanded EITC benefit that equals up to half of their total payroll tax, a major relief for low-income parents.”
Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
Dependent care savings accounts
Trump’s plan allows parents to contribute up to $2,000 to a tax-free dependent care savings account. Parents do not have to depend on their employer to set up an account for each of their children, and funds will remain in the account until the age of 18. “Whatever still remains at that time can be used to help offset the cost of higher education for your child,” says Trump.
