Wall St. Journal: 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East “One of the largest union-administered health-insurance funds in New York is dropping coverage for the children of more than 30,000 low-wage home attendants, union officials said. The union blamed financial problems it said were caused by the state’s health department and new national health-insurance requirements.”
The bad news is that Obamacare is very expensive and many businesses cannot afford to pay the increased costs of health insurance for employees. The good news for businesses with friends in high places is that they have gotten a waiver to opt out of Obamacare. To date, the Department of Health & Human Services has granted 111 waivers to businesses and unions allowing them to not comply with parts of Obamacare. DHHS says:
“Applications for waivers from annual limit requirements are reviewed on a case by case basis by Department officials who look at a series of factors including whether or not a premium increase is large or if a significant number of enrollees would lose access to their current plan because the coverage would not be offered in the absence of a waiver. More detailed information on specific criteria can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/11-05-2010annual_limits_waiver_bulletin.pdf. Approved applicants are granted an annual limit waiver for one year. The Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight’s sub-regulatory guidance on the process for obtaining waivers of the annual limits requirements may be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/patient/ociio_2010-1_20100903_508.pdf.”
See “Waiver-mania! The ever-expanding Obamacare escapee list” and “Unreal. SEIU Local 25 and 12 Other Union Groups Receive Obamacare Waivers.”
Business Insider: “For 15 years, I have taken pride in paying the full cost of health insurance for every full-time Palisades Hudson employee who wanted it. This month marks the last time I will do that. . . . I wrote in this space in March that the Affordable Care Act, which was enacted later that month, is likely to make health coverage anything but affordable for those who actually pay the bills. I have no desire to stand next to the tracks in order to watch this train wreck unfold at close range.”
NBC News: “The state
See “Anthem Approved For Health Insurance Rate Hikes As High As 47 Percent,” which said:
“The state’s largest insurer has been approved to raise health premium rates by 41 percent to 47 percent for some of its policies sold to individual buyers . . . . The reason for the increases is the new federal health reform mandates, according to Anthem and the state Department of Insurance”
Reuters: “U.S. states can proceed with a lawsuit seeking to overturn President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare reform law, a Florida judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson had said at a hearing last month that he would block efforts by the Justice Department to dismiss the lawsuit, led by Florida and 19 other states.”
See the New York Times story “Challenging Health Care Law, Suit Advances.”