It's budget time for the Stoffa administration. As many Lehigh Valley employers struggle with understanding the Affordable Care Act, County Executive John Stoffa had made the decision to reduce the costly impact of the Cadillac Tax by increasing the county's full-time employees co-insurance contributions for healthcare benefits.

For the county's health plan, taxes would increase from $934,000 in 2014 to $28 million by 2028, according to Pat Siemiontkowski, director of the county's Human Resources department. For some insured county employees, the higher co-insurance contributions could have amounted to a 900 percent increase in the contribution rate in 2014.

But in an Oct. 16 letter to county council, Stoffa rescinded this decision with plans to form an ad hoc committee to work to make changes in the law.

AFSCME union representative Justus James and a handful of union employees publicly thanked Stoffa for this decision and pledged the unions' support in coming to consensus and working together to make changes. James was met with a round of applause at an Oct. 17 county council meeting.

Under the ACA, the county's self-insurance policy is known as a "Cadillac" or "gold-plated" plan because of the benefits it provides to its more than 1,800 full-time employees. Often these plans are defined by the total cost of premiums, rather than what the insurance plan covers or how much the patient has to pay for a doctor or hospital visit. As such, beginning in 2018, if the law stands, this plan will be subject to a 40 percent excise tax. This Cadillac Tax is expected to be imposed on the value of health insurance benefits exceeding a certain threshold. The estimated thresholds are $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for family coverage.

Describing the tax as regressive, unfair and a penalty to employers who try to reward their employees with good health care coverage, Stoffa resolved to spend his remaining term in office working with the County Commissioners Association (CCAP) to "advocate for changes in the law, to increase the threshold for 'Cadillac plans' or to eliminate this provision."

Stoffa has resolved to work with other counties and the unions representing county employees to make changes in this law.

Council's next regular meeting is at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 7 at Northampton County Courthouse's third floor, 669 Washington St., Easton.