White House doesn't shut door on health-benefit tax

Obama attacked McCain for similar plan during race

WASHINGTON (Winston-Salem Journal) - The White House left open the possibility yesterday that President Obama might pay for his health-care overhaul by taxing employer-provided health insurance even though he had campaigned on not raising taxes on middle-class families.

David Axelrod, White House adviser, said that the administration wouldn't rule out taxing some employees' benefits to pay for a health-care agenda that has yet to take final form. The move would be a compromise with fellow Democrats, who are pushing the proposal as a way to pay for the massive undertaking without ballooning the federal deficit.

"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," Axelrod said. "We've gotten a long way down the road and we want to finish that journey."