Obamacare...The Good..Bad and the Ugly

[mr40]

How about Trump removing the labor unions exemption from Obamacare? If Obamacare is so great, why were the unions granted exemptions?

There are ACA exemptions/delays that President Obama has granted union groups.

1. In 2013, Obama excepted unions from paying fees that other large group health plans have to pay. That fee has been passed to those insured through non-union plans.

The union exemption deal will require that insurers who aren’t fully reimbursed by fees along with non-exempted self-insured employers will have to pay more to make up the shortfall. How will they make that up? How else but by passing on higher costs to their customers? The Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that the fee for other non-exempt plans will be higher as a result.

Unions Get Big ObamaCare Christmas Present As Other Self-Insured Groups Get Scrooged

2. Under union pressure, the Cadillac Tax, a 40% tax on generous healthcare benefits was delayed to 2018 and may be scrapped altogether.

Even plans that are not hit by the 40% tax in 2018 soon could be. After all, the Cadillac tax is linked to the consumer price index plus 1%. Medical and insurance costs are growing far faster, so more and more plans will be hit with the 40% each year. A survey by Mercer anticipates that one-third of employers will be hit by the tax in 2018, growing to 60% by 2022. It could be worse still.

And this is just want we know so far. It could be far worse. The IRS has already showcased how incredibly complex this tax will be, setting out approaches to the excise tax. Of all the taxes in the ironically named Affordable Care Act, none is more onerous, a whopping 40% on top of all other federal taxes. It is an excise tax, one of the most dreaded taxes there is. It sounds as if it taxes overly generous employer-provided health care plans for executives.

In reality, it seems likely to primarily hit union plans. Unions that have negotiated for generous health benefits may now wish they hadn’t. Across the board, the Cadillac tax puts pressure on employers to offer less-generous health insurance plans.

The 40% tax is imposed on the cost of individual health plans above $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for family coverage. The tax applies at a 40% rate on every dollar above those thresholds.

A reasonable response to the Cadillac tax is likely to be cutting of health insurance. Less generous coverage will presumably be provided. In large part, the result is likely to higher costs for employees, higher deductibles, and other add-ons that will harm employees. Doesn’t that go directly contrary to what proponents of the Affordable Care Act–including the President–represented? Like your plan, keep your plan?

https://www.quora.com/Which-labor-unions-are-exempt-from-Obamacare