![\"trumka\"](\"http:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/Business\/ba566f90-2d99-4463-91f8-a165d4fcd69e_mn.jpg\")
One of the main obstacles to resolving differences between the House and Senate versions of the healthcare bills has been funding. The President and many Democrats had backed a plan to heavily tax high-end employer-sponsored insurance plans (being called “Cadillac plans”) as a way to fund the costs of healthcare reform. But labor union leaders balked because many of their hard-won contracts offered workers just such plans. Yesterday, that dead-lock was broken when an agreement was finally reached between Obama, labor unions, and lawmakers. The original plan was a 40 percent tax on the value of employer-sponsored insurance coverage greater than $8,500 a year for an individual and $23,000 for a family. Now, those thresholds were increased to $8,900 for an individual and $24,000 for a family. Additionally the taxes would take effect five years later than originally planned, and would exclude dental and vision coverage for the calculations. Labor unions have come under criticism from health reform activists who view them as having abandoned those most in need: the non-unionized and uninsured.<\/p>\n