Politics
Labor Union Promotes Obamacare Enrollment
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In anticipation of Obamacare’s second open enrollment period, one union is already encouraging its members to join Friday.
“More than 100 million people are already benefiting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and as the second period for open enrollment in the healthcare marketplaces kicks off Saturday,” a press release from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) stated.
The press release continued, “Efforts by Republicans to dismantle the law have failed. Midterm election exit polling showed that the nation is tired of congressional obstruction. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land and is improving the lives of more than 100 million people.”
“For America’s working families, the healthcare law is going strong and has become part of the American fabric,” the press release added.
“Over the next three months, SEIU members will reach out to working women and men in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas to make sure they know the facts about new healthcare options” the SEIU statement concluded.
Mary Kay Henry, the international president of the SEIU, declared in a statement, “For 10.3 million Americans, access to healthcare through the Affordable Care Act means no longer having to live on the brink just to stay healthy. SEIU members reached out to 2.5 million Americans last year and will be working with community groups and healthcare advocates to help more families get covered.”
David Hogberg, a health care policy analyst at the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), is not convinced.
“Where are they getting their numbers?” Hogberg asked The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The SEIU cites their own study, which used data from the White House.
“Six million people have lost their plans,” Hogberg said. “Lower-skilled workers are having their hours reduced.”
“Not everyone has benefited,” he added. “Many people on the exchange are there because they lost their plan.”
The SEIU also made the claim that more than 85 percent of Americans who gained coverage through the marketplaces during the first enrollment period were eligible for financial assistance.
Hogberg warned, “What they are neglecting to tell you is many of their people are losing those subsidies” because of changes in the marketplace that occur within the last year.
SEIU has in the past received waivers from Obamacare provisions. Labor unions spent heavily to promote Obamacare’s passage.
The three-month open enrollment period begins Saturday and will continue through till Feb. 15.
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