SEIU waved from Obamacare requirement

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/seiu-locals-including-chicago-chapter-wa#

"Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEUI), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barak Obama in the 2008 presidential election, have received temporary waivers from a provision in the Obamacare law.

The three SEIU chapters include the Local 25 in Obama's hometown of Chicago.

The waivers allow health insurance plans to limit how much they will spend on a policy holder's medical coverage for a given year. Under the new health care law, however, such annual limits are phased out by the year 2014. (Under HHS regulations, annual limits can be no less than $750,000 for 2011, no less that $1.25 million in 2012 and no less than $2 million in 2013).

The SEIU, with more than 2 million members nationally, includes health care workers, janitors, security gaurds, and state and local government workers.

The three SEIU locals, covering a total of 36,064 enrollees, are covered by the federal waivers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

HHS gave a waiver to Local 25 SEIU in Chicago with 31,000 enrollees on Oct 1, 2010; to Local 1199 SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund with 4,544 enrollees on Oct, 10 2010; and to the SEIU Local 1 Clevland Welfare Fund with 520 enrollees on Nov. 15, 2010.

So far, the Obama administration has issued waivers to 222 entities, including businesses, unions, and charitable organizations. Of that total, 45 were labor organizations.

A total of 1,507,418 enrollees are now included in the waivers. More than one third -- 512,315 -- or the enrollees affected were insured by union health plans.

SEIU Local 1199's health plan put a $50,000 cap on medical expenses for the New Jersey nursing home workers, according to 1199 SEIU spokeswoman Leah Gonzelez. That's $700,.000 under the 2011 limit stipulated by HHS regulations.

In September, HHS announced it would grant waivers to employers to prevent some workers from losing their benefits if the insurer could not meet new health care law's requirements on annual limits. The waivers are granted by HHS if the department dtetermines "compliance with the interim final regulations increase in premiums" according to a Sept. 3 memo by Steve L. Larson, director of the HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

Local 1199, SEIU's Greater New York Benefit Fund, requested the waiver specifically with respect to its seperate plan for New Jersey members, according to Gonzalez. This waiver primarily affects low wage New Jersey nursing home workers whose health care plan provides medical, hospital, prescription, dental, and vision benefits.

The New Jersey members now have an annual maximum health care benefit of $50,000 Gonzalez said fewer than 1% of members have ever reached that cap, and that those members who did received additional help.

"The members" health benefits are paid for by the employer and are negotiated through collective bargaining," Gonzalez said in a written statement to CNSNews.com. "Several years ago, facing limited dollars from the employers for this small group, the members themselves chose how to shape their health plan to get the most out of their coverage."

Gonzalez added that prescriptions are excluded from the cap. "For example, if a member maxes out from a hospital stay, she/he can continue to get their life saving medications thorughout the year while accessing alternative coverage at low cost community clinics."

Neither SEIU Local 25 nor Local 1, nor the national organization responded to CNSNews.com's request for comment.

The SEIU's Committee on Political Education made $27,829,845 in independent expenditures on Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. SEIU-affiliated groups in Illiinois have long supported Obama's campaigns and endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for US Senate in 2004. In 2008, the national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination."

Originally posted by whodey
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/seiu-locals-including-chicago-chapter-wa#

"Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEUI), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barak Obama in the 2008 presidential election, have received temporary waivers from a provision in the Obamacare law.

The three SEIU chapters in he national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination."

Originally posted by bill718
Unions really get under your skin...don't they? God forbid employees under a union collective barganing agreement get fairer wages, benifits, and are generally less subject to company abuse than the non union group.

You didn't seem to have a problem with Bush and Co. tossing sweetheart defence contracts to Halliburton, and Blackwater, even though they wer pense). God forbid the common folk get a few crumbs, that's downright....UN AMERICAN!! 😠