Immediately following the midterm election, congressional Republican leadership announced that one of their goals during the next session of Congress would be to redefine what it means to be a full-time employee because, supposedly, Obamacare is the reason employees are receiving fewer hours on their schedule.
There are a number of reasons why that’s wrong, not the least of which is the fact that the employer mandate has been delayed until 2016 and thus the requirement that businesses with at least 50 employees provide healthcare to employees who work at least 30 hours per week is not currently in effect.
During their post-election victory tour, Republican leadership also alleged that Obamacare is actually causing employees to lose their health insurance.
That also isn’t true, but even if it were true it’s extremely rare according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management.
A year after the advent of new insurance marketplaces for individuals and small businesses under the health-care law, just 1 percent of employers said they have decided to stop offering health coverage for 2015, one survey said. There was relatively little difference between larger employers and those with fewer than 50 workers, which qualify for new small-business marketplaces, known as SHOPs, that are part of the health-care law.
That survey of more than 3,000 employers, conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management, also found relatively little tendency for companies to narrow the groups offered coverage. One in 12 employers said they are eliminating coverage for workers’ spouses, while 1 in 76 said they are dropping insurance for part-time employees.
According to the Washington Post, a separate survey conducted by the Mercer consulting firm also found that only 4 percent of employers intended to drop healthcare coverage within the next five years.
Numbers this small, ranging from 1 to 4 percent, could be written off as anomalies or even normal operating procedure, but I’m sure that’s not how the Right will see it.
Approximately 2 percent of employers dropping healthcare coverage is clearly the end of America as we know it.
I jest, but here’s something really funny: House Republicans want to sue the president for delaying the employer mandate which they allege is the root of all evil. If they were to win their lawsuit, the employer mandate would take effect immediately.
Why do House Republicans want to implement the mandate and cause people to lose their coverage and jobs?