Unions Finally Clue In to Obamacare Issues

It’s so hard to keep a straight face when you read something like this. Apparently many union leaders have figured out that Obamacare ain’t all that:

… some unions leaders have grown frustrated and angry about what they say are unexpected consequences of the new law — problems that they say could jeopardize the health benefits offered to millions of their members.

Do tell:

The union plans were already more costly to run than traditional single-employer health plans. The 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.

“We’re concerned that employers will be increasingly tempted to drop coverage through our plans and let our members fend for themselves on the health exchanges,” said David Treanor, director of health care initiatives at the Operating Engineers union.

Not very likely. A recent survey showed that 97.4% of employers thought it was likely or certain that they would continue providing health insurance to full time employees. What they’re doing instead is transferring some of the cost to employees, going with higher deductibles, and perhaps turning to “skinny” health plans to control costs.

But even if the employers don’t dump employees onto the health exchanges, the health care consumer won’t be able to keep what they have:

“It makes an untruth out of what the president said, that if you like your insurance, you could keep it,” said Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “That is not going to be true for millions of workers now.”

Sucks to be thrown in with the rest of us, huh? Part of liking your insurance is liking the price. It was never true for anybody that Obamacare wouldn’t change either the terms or costs of your healthcare package.

And the unions can finally see that without the special carve-outs they thought they were going to get, their health care is going to suffer just like ours.