Why would unions be exempt from the Affordable Care Act?
Here is a list of business and entities that are exempt from the ACA. I assume most of them fall under the 8% rule that exempts them
However, there are an inordinate number of unions listed and I don’t understand why. Unions are designed to protect employee rights, but it’s the business that the employee works for that pays the employee’s insurance, not the unions.
Can you ‘splain this to me please?
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13 Answers
Maybe because the contract that union workers work under specifies what the terms are for the health care payment?
How would the affordable care act affect that?
Unions are the sponsors of multi-employer benefit plans that cover their members. Pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, employers pay into the plans on behalf of their employees.
The arrangements are cost-effective for employers. Companies don’t need to create or maintain their own plans or worry about nondiscrimination rules and yearly compliance. Also, because of the large economies of scale, the benefits are generally quite inexpensive, much less than the cost of covering people under company-sponsored plans.
As for the workers, they get some of the best benefits in the U.S. economy. Government employees and union members are the last Americans covered by traditional pension plans and likely to have decent incomes during retirement.
The Teamster Union in the area I use to live in had a Medical Center at the Headquarters, Doctors, Dentists, glasses and prescriptions included. It was part of the Union dues and I believe if you were hospitalized the payment came from the Union.
Politifact rates this one a Pants on Fire lie on the Truth-o-meter. Free Republic is pretty well known for spreading this sort of thing.
So how does being exempt from the ACA benefit them or the employees they protect?
Oops…I need to correct and edit myself. Multi-employer plans aren’t sponsored by unions; they’re sponsored by joint boards of trustees, comprising 50% labor and 50% industry.
I once worked with dozens of unions, so this stuff is important to me. Thank you. I think I’ll go to bed now.
Because they were stalwart supporters of President Obama.
But how would it benefit them?
At the moment, employer provided insurance is a tax free benefit. With Obama care, over a maximum market value, they will be taxed. Many union packages are extravagent by ACA standards. Union people don’t want to pay the tax, nor do they want a less generous prepaid plan (most medical insurance really is not insurance in the way that auto or home owners have insurance). I bet they get their exemption. What do you bet?
For what reason would they get an exemption?
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