Unions make up 40 percent of employees exempted from Obamacare

Unions make up 40 percent of employees exempted from Obamacare

Published on Washington Examiner (http://washingtonexaminer.com)

By David Freddoso
Created Jan 27 2011 - 5:57pm

Yesterday, the Deparment of Health and Human Services announced it had granted more than 500 new waivers to Obamacare's requirement that health plans have annual limits of no less than $750,000. This annual limit requirement climbs to $1.25 million next year and then to $2 million.

The reason these exemptions from the law are needed is that Obamacare forces all health insurance consumers to over-insure themselves and pay high premiums as a result. Without the waivers, many companies, non-profits and unions would simply drop their health plans. As of 2014, the waivers will no longer be available -- at least, that's the way the law is written.

It is worth noting that there are 166 union benefits funds now exempted from this requirement, which account for about 40 percent of the exempted workers. This means that although there are only 14.6 million unionized employees in the United States, and 860,000 of them are already exempted from this provision of Obamacare.

Here is the list:

And yet the unions were some of the strongest proponents of Obamacare.

Kind of ironic, no?

dblboggie wrote:And yet the unions were some of the strongest proponents of Obamacare.

Kind of ironic, no?

Very ironic.

I like this bit here:

The reason these exemptions from the law are needed is that Obamacare forces all health insurance consumers to over-insure themselves and pay high premiums as a result. Without the waivers, many companies, non-profits and unions would simply drop their health plans.

Well, duh.

But hey... everyone is "covered" now.

Just another example of how the inexorable ratcheting up of government interference in free-markets (for now) is forcing the cost curve UP as opposed to the downward curve Obama claimed this bill would create.

When will people learn?

dblboggie wrote:When will people learn?

They won't. As long as some people "get theirs", it's all good. It kinda reminds me of the taxes thing. Over 48% don't pay taxes to begin with. It's these people who don't mind when they go up (or call for the increases).

It comes down to the entitlement mentality.

Yes, that's true. The concept that one is "owed" something just for being born is one that has taken a significant hold here over the decades.

Sadly, all of this taxing and spending actually hurts lower income individuals the most in the form of higher costs for everything... food, gas, clothing, electricity, rent, public transportation... all of these things are going to become ever more expensive as this administration rolls forward with their "progressive" agenda.