Union Workers Overwhelmingly Benefit from ObamaCare
Waivers
By Brian Koenig Jan 9, 2012
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/10489-union-workers-overwhelmingly-benefit-from-obamacare-waivers
Since the passage of the
Affordable Care Act, more than 1,200 companies have been accorded waivers from
the healthcare reform law, the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) disclosed Friday, the final
day that the agency is required to report the data.
"Friday marks the last
time HHS will have to update the total number of waivers, putting to rest a
recurring political firestorm," writes Sam Baker of The
Hill. "The department had been updating its waiver totals every
month, prompting monthly attacks from the GOP."
Indeed, not only has the number
of waivers granted by the department stirred a hailstorm of controversy, but it
has also displayed an incontrovertible pattern of crony capitalism, as the law
openly leans on the side of labor unions, who just so happen to be strong
Democratic supporters who wield tremendous political influence. Ever since the
administration strapped a tighter leash on application rules, the unionized
sector has remained a prominent beneficiary of ObamaCare
waivers.
"Documents released in a
classic Friday afternoon news dump show that labor unions representing 543,812
workers received waivers from President Barack Obama’s signature legislation since June 17, 2011,"
noted the Daily Caller. "By contrast, private employers with a
total of 69,813 employees, many of whom work for small businesses, were granted
waivers."
Naturally, ObamaCare’s
most zealous opponents, who range from Republican politicians to industry
groups to conservative pundits, have been quick to excoriate the
administration’s arbitrary waiver handouts, as these critics expand their
allegation that ObamaCare is "unworkable."
In response to a bombardment of politically toxic criticism, the department
defended those provisions in the law granting waiver eligibility, saying they
display the law’s "flexibility" in adapting to specific cases where a
company or other affiliation should be exempt.
All in all, the ObamaCare waivers excuse roughly four million people, or
about three percent of the U.S.
population, from having to participate in the program, the HHS stated Friday.
The 1,231 figure embodies all waiver requests the department has granted so
far, including three-year waivers and one-year waivers and/or extensions to
companies. Overall, the HHS denied 96 waiver requests.
Being bombarded with monthly waves
of GOP criticism, the HHS said last summer it would cease all applications for
one-year waivers and would accept or deny waivers through the end of 2013.
The department revised
provisions regarding application rules for the exemptions last June, amid a
relentless flood of controversial news reports, including a May 17 exposé by the Daily Caller revealing that nearly 20 percent of the ObamaCare waivers approved last April went to House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s California district:
Of the 204 new Obamacare waivers President Barack
Obama’s administration approved in April, 38 are for
fancy eateries, hip nightclubs and decadent hotels in House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi’s Northern California district.
That’s in
addition to the 27 new waivers for health care or drug companies and the 31 new
union waivers Obama’s Department of Health and Human
Services approved.
Pelosi’s district
secured almost 20 percent of the latest issuance of waivers nationwide, and the
companies that won them didn’t have much in common with companies throughout
the rest of the country that have received ObamaCare
waivers.
In the early stages of ObamaCare, labor unions overwhelmingly supported the
legislation, and conveniently, nearly half a million of their workers are now
exempt from the law. And considering the generous public and financial support
such proponents have provided for the Obama
campaign — contributing in excess of $400 million during the
2008 election cycle, nearly all of which went to Democrats — such
political massaging is easily predictable.
Naturally, the President feels
indebted to his most influential political advocates, and he has been feeding
this political alliance since well before he was elected President, as he
indicated in his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope: "So I owe these
unions. When their leaders call, I do my best to call them back right away. I
don’t consider this corrupting in any way."
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/10489-union-workers-overwhelmingly-benefit-from-obamacare-waivers