Most unions backed ObamaCare’s passage, but labor argues provisions in the law could cut employee hours, unfairly tax their plans and force workers off their union health plans into the law’s potentially more costly insurance exchanges.
The central issue is union members, who are among the roughly 20 million people who use nonprofit multi-employer “Taft-Hartley” health plans.
Unions want the administration to change ObamaCare so that those plans are treated as qualified health plans that can earn tax subsidies. Under the administration’s interpretation of the law, the multi-employer plans are not eligible for the subsidies.
Without those subsidies, employers may have the incentive to drop the plans and force workers onto the insurance exchanges.
“The Democrats have completely given the store away to the for-profit industry,” Taylor said. “Without any question, we have a scenario set up that ObamaCare has turned all the money over to the for-profit plans and the nonprofit plans will fade away.”
Unite Here represents about 250,000 workers at hotels, casinos, stadiums and the food service industry. Taylor estimates that 200,000 of his members are on the Taft-Hartley plans.
Unions also argue that the law creates an incentive for employers to cut back on work hours for employees. Under ObamaCare, companies have to provide healthcare coverage to workers who work 30 hours or more a week — which could lead some employers to cut back on employee hours to avoid the requirement.
An AFL-CIO official said the labor federation supports a change to ObamaCare that extends the employer’s healthcare coverage requirement to workers working less than 30 hours per week.
Unions also have problems with a “reinsurance” program to help early retirees that’s financed by contributions from healthcare plans.
The administration says it is committed to making the healthcare law work for those on Taft-Hartley plans, but has not offered to make any changes to the law so far that would meet union concerns.