Obamacare Mandate May Be Delayed

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by whell

I think both of you may not be quite right about this. Several Taft-Hartley multi-employer health and welfare plans sought and received waivers to PPACA because their plans didn't meet the minimum requirement of the law that were phased in between 2010 and 2013. However, those waivers were granted only through 2013, and the union must start to comply after 1/1/2014 (or possibly the first plan year thereafter).

Unions also sought for their multi-employer plans, and were denied, access to the premium subsidies afforded to individuals not covered under group health plans. If that had been granted, it would have made those plans very affordable for union employees, and possibly attractive to employers that had previously not been open to having their workforce organized, since they could then offload the cost of health insurance to a union plan in a very cost effective way. However, they are group health plans, and under the law, individuals covered under such plans are not eligible for subsidies.

However, I suspect this isn't over. The administration has suggested that if unions convert their multi-employer plans into "private exchanges", there may be a way leverage the exchange model to grant subsidies to members, though that may create some new tax consequences for the unions.

Good information, whell. Thanks.