Unions demand repeal or reform of "ObamaCare"

The Obama administration has managed to pull off a “hat-trick” when it comes to people and organizations hating the President’s signature health care achievement: Business owners, labor unions and taxpayers are all demanding health reform be repealed or significantly reformed.

Unions are the latest to join this demand.  The Presidents of three of the largest unions in the country, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and Unite Here, are demanding that the Affordable Care Act, or “ObamaCare”, be repealed or “fixed” to their satisfaction.

In a letter to the President , Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid the unions reminded the President and Democrats that it was union support—boots on the ground and money-- that got them elected and “time is running out: Congress voted for this law; we voted for you…we have a problem; you need to fix it”.

The unions have multiple problems, in fact, with the law.  Union multi-employer health plans currently have approximately 20 million members.  The unions’ most serious concern is that union health plans will be hit with a double whammy on January 1, 2014: the cost of their multi-employer plans will rise  and union members will not have access to federal subsidies available to individuals purchasing lower priced plans in the State exchanges (Covered California in California).  The unions are afraid that many members will leave union health plans or that many, especially smaller, employers will drop union health plans to allow their workers to purchase plans on the individual market.  Both scenarios would be “devastating” claim the unions and make union membership less important to current and potential future members.

The unions are also concerned "ObamaCar" “will shatter not only our hard-earned health-benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week” by defining “full-time” as 30 hours or more per week and requiring employers to provide health care to full-time workers.   These requirements, they complain, are incenting employers to cut current employee hours and only hire part-time workers.
Current employment numbers seem to bear out this fear.  The consequences of these provisions are two-fold: fewer hours equals less pay for workers and the loss of employer provided health insurance.

An unrelated study at Northwestern University supports the concerns expressed by unions.  The study forecasts that up to 940,000 people will quit their jobs when ObamaCare becomes available.  Why?  The authors show that many people work, not for the money, but to obtain health insurance.  Other employees stay at their current employer because of the company’s health plan.  With exchanges available and providing subsidies in the individual markets, the authors show that many people will quit working or use the individual markets to free themselves from the restraint of employer and/or union provided health plans.

Are the union concerns valid?  Does the Northwestern study show pending devastation or freedom?  What will hundreds of thousands of people quitting work or dropping union health plans for government subsidized individual health plans do to tax rates and government debt?  Maybe the ultimate question is why would you pass legislation with this complexity, with this potential disastrous effect on one-seventh of the economy without understanding these concerns?

Nancy Pelosi said when passing the Affordable Care Act, “we have to pass this legislation so you can read what is in it.”  Maybe someone could have read AND understood it before voting for it.