Free Republic

I had thought I would not write at all today, much less write about Obamacare. I am weary with telling the tale of this train wreck and what it is doing to the American people. It seems, however, there is just no end to the depths to which the Obama administration will go to further its agenda and help its friends. Just ask the unions how they feel about Obamacare. When the Affordable Care Act was first being considered in Congress, the unions were asked to support it, even though it appeared the legislation would not be optimal for...

The labor movement appears likely to dodge a key tax under ObamaCare less than two months after the White House refused to make union plans eligible for subsidies. The Obama administration indicated last week it will propose exempting certain self-insured, self-administered insurance plans from two of the healthcare law's three-year reinsurance fees. The policies that would escape the fees include the multi-employer or "Taft Hartley" plans that are commonly held by union members. The disclosure, buried in rules released by the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, would give unions some of the relief they have sought from ObamaCare. "We...

Weeks after denying labor’s request to give union members access to health-law subsidies, the Obama administration is signaling it intends to exempt some union plans from one of the law’s substantial taxes. Buried in rules issued last week is the disclosure that the administration will propose exempting “certain self-insured, self-administered plans” from the law’s temporary reinsurance fee in 2015 and 2016. That’s a description that applies to many Taft-Hartley union plans acting as their own insurance company and claims processor, said Edward Fensholt, a senior vice president at Lockton Cos., a large insurance broker. Insurance companies and self-insured employers that...

CNN found time to broadcast a story about a "neighbor from hell" but as to harsh labor union criticism of "healthcare from hell," not a word. Not only is CNN maintaining a wall of silence on union opposition, expressed in a letter to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi,  to ObamaCare but pretty much the rest of the mainstream media, with the notable exceptions of the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, are stubbornly remaining mum on the story despite President  Obama being forced to go into campaign mode to sell his unpopular healthcare law. To read the MSM stories about...

So lets see if we've got this right. Chicago, then Detroit, dump their union retirees healthcare plans and force them into Obamacare. Union contracted healthcare provisions thrown away by those cities who negotiated, then signed the agreements knowing full well that they were not affordable. They bought votes with these contracts, enriched themselves, shoveled money to their friends and supporters and now, poof, just like that, the rest of America is supposed to pick up the tab.These are the actions of someone who does not plan to ever run for office again. They've shown their hands to the very people...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Unions that praised “free stuff” from Obamacare are now claiming that it’s “too expensive” Associated Press reports:Some unions now angry about health care overhaul Obama’s Affordable Care Act has added to that cost – for the unions’ and other plans – by requiring health plans to cover dependents up to age 26, eliminate annual or lifetime coverage limits and extend coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.When the unions were trying to help pass Obamacare, they said that those were good things. Coverage for children up to age 26! No lifetime limits on benefits! Coverage for pre-existing...

Now that ObamaCare is actually happening, labor unions who made a big push for the legislation three years ago are no longer rallying behind it. Unions are seeing healthcare promises made by President Obama broken left and right in the form of higher costs, more bureaucracy, loss of doctors Obama promised they could keep, slashing of healthcare benefits and more. Union leaders say many of the law's requirements will drive up the costs for their health-care plans and make unionized workers less competitive. Among other things, the law eliminates the caps on medical benefits and prescription drugs used as cost-containment...