Another Union Group Condemns Obamacare Provision

The Nevada State AFL-CIO has joined the chorus of unions slamming Obamacare, claiming  that certain provisions of the law could end up destroying multi-employer union health plans and criticizing the administration for not addressing its concerns.

"Our union members and their families originally offered strong political and moral support for the promise of the Affordable Care Act because it would expand healthcare coverage for more Americans," read a resolution passed Wednesday.

But when it came to dealing with the unions' concerns, it continued, "the administrations has postured on proposals to address the problem, but no proposal to date will actually solve the problem. Our health plans only get worse."

Several unions, including UNITE HERE, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Teamsters, have already voiced their concerns, sending a letter to Democratic leaders in Congress warning that the law as it now stands could have dire consequences for workers by undermining their healthcare plans, known as Taft-Hartley plans.

Taft-Hartley plans are nonprofit policies administered by participating companies and unions, and tend to offer broad coverage at low costs. They also allow workers in transient industries to change employers without losing their healthcare.

Danny Thompson, head of the Nevada State AFL-CIO, told the Las Vegas Sun that unions were led to believe that Obamacare would not change their Taft-Hartley plans.

"We were told if you had a health insurance you liked it would be left alone. Well it hasn't been left alone," he said.

"This equity issue is huge for us. The money that will be collected to pay for the system will be collected on us to the tune of $63 per person in the fund. And we don't qualify for any of the subsidies that a private insurance company would qualify for so we're put in the situation where it's going to be tough to compete in that realm with for profit companies, "Thompson explained.

Under the resolution, the Nevada AFL-CIO urges Congress and Obama "to undertake immediate changes to the implementation and regulation of the ACA."

It adds, "We will view any solution that does not fully address the outlined issues as unacceptable."