Federal workers want everyone on Obamacare except… federal workers

[red states rule]

How typical. The arrogance of those who run the government - that we pay for - demand they be exempt from a law that all of us have to live under




It’s really turning out to be an Obamacare kind of weekend, even in the midst of all the Syria news. First, Erika reported that labor unions were out of luck (http://hotair.com/?p=278870) when it comes to getting an exemption from Obamacare, and Ed reminded us that the system is fraught with security problems (http://hotair.com/?p=278884). Well, the administration will need to keep an eye on how many horses are getting out of the pen, because virtually all Federal Employees would prefer not to be enrolled (http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2013/08/12/shocker-new-survey-finds-nearly-every-federal-employee-rejects-obamacare/), thank you very much.
From Merrill Matthews at Forbes:

Who knew that when President Obama promised (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/15/obama-ama-speech-full-tex_n_215699.html), “If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period,” he was only referring to federal employees … and himself?

A new survey (http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/08/08/fedsmith-com-users-overwhelmingly-reject-inclusion-in-new-health-care-program/) of 2,500 federal employees and retirees found that 92.3 percent believe federal workers should keep their current health insurance and not be forced into ObamaCare. Only 2.9 percent say they should become part of the new health insurance exchanges.
You always need to be cautious with surveys, particularly when you’re trying to hit such a specific demographic slice, but if you manage to ring up a number greater than 90 on one side of the equation you can be pretty sure that you’ve tapped into a significant majority. And Matthews has discovered a particularly biting bit of irony in these numbers which is probably already obvious to the majority of us. The lion’s share of federal workers are all organized in federal employee unions. Weren’t they some of the President’s most vocal and active supporters when this train wreck was being shoved through Congress in the first place?

What I’d like to know is how many of those federal employees so eager to avoid ObamaCare themselves supported forcing everyone else in it…
To put it simply: Federal employees and retires almost unanimously prefer to stay in their generous taxpayer-funded health insurance program, known as the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP), rather than being dumped into liberalism’s two greatest monuments to government-run health insurance, ObamaCare and Medicare.
Speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
I can’t believe that there isn’t going to be some sort of eleventh hour, ride to the rescue maneuver to absolutely ensure that federal employees won’t face this awful fate. Staying on that fat, taxpayer funded Cadillac plan is the far better option, and Democrats don’t want that many union workers ticked off at them. But whatever the “solution” turns out to be, it won’t come as much comfort to all of the people on private plans who wind up getting forced onto the rolls. That would include workers, retirees and family members from UPS (http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/21/news/companies/ups-obamacare/index.html), IBM (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323893004579059393251153348.html), Trader Joe’s (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/11/trader-joes-obamacare_n_3902341.html) and others.

But nobody really wants the GOP to keep trying to stop this bill, right? I mean, that would just be some silly people on the fringe.

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/09/14/federal-workers-want-everyone-on-obamacare-except-federal-workers/

[revelarts]

well the communist party members get more privileges and benefits of course.

"some animals are more equal than others"
George Orwell, Animal Farm

[red states rule]

A host on Fox News summed it up perfectly

I go into a restaurant and I find out the waiter does not eat the food there

The cook eats at the place across the street

The owner also eats at another restaurant

I get up and get the hell out of there

So with Obamacare we have the clowns that voted for it want nothing to do with it

The staff that wrote the bill want nothing to do with it

The groups that openly supported it and told others to vote for it want nothing to do with it

tells me Obamacare sucks and needs to be repealed

[Arbo]

How typical. The arrogance of those who run the government - that we pay for - demand they be exempt from a law that all of us have to live under


A new survey (http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/08/08/fedsmith-com-users-overwhelmingly-reject-inclusion-in-new-health-care-program/) of 2,500 federal employees and retirees found that 92.3 percent believe federal workers should keep their current health insurance and not be forced into ObamaCare.

I know that elected officials have ensured they were not part of it. But are these employees going to be let out of the ACA, or is this just a report saying most of them do not want the ACA? A big difference. I mean, if you polled people in the private sector you would probably get the same results if you asked if they wanted to keep their current health care and not be forced into the ACA.

[red states rule]

Amazing how few people want to live under Obama's crown jewel of his first term




Nobody is begging for ObamaCare because of its amazing cost or coverage. The only people who are fervently pushing for ObamaCare are those seeking power and their names in the history books.
Not only are the unions complaining about ObamaCare, but yesterday we learned that our own IRS Commissioner doesn't even want ObamaCare coverage. During a committee hearing yesterday on ObamaCare and the IRS, Danny Werfel told the members (http://www.wsbradio.com/weblogs/jamie-dupree/2013/aug/01/acting-irs-chief-wants-keep-his-insurance/?ecmp=wsbam_social_twitter_201310383184), “I can speak for myself, I would prefer to stay with the current policy that I’m pleased with rather than go through a change if I don’t need to go through that change.” Join the club, Mr. Werfel! There are millions of Americans who would like to keep their current health insurance, as they were promised by Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. There are also millions of Americans who would prefer to keep their job, their hours or simply any healthcare coverage at all, but all of those things are being effected by ObamaCare. Remember that the IRS plays a key role in the implementation of ObamaCare and it has to hire thousands of new employees to enforce it. Rep. Tom Price of Georgia has introduced a bill (http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/354930/getting-irs-out-obamacare-grace-marie-turner) that would prevent the IRS from implementing and enforcing ObamaCare. Naturally, Obama has already said that he would veto such legislation.

But the guy in charge of enforcing ObamaCare at the IRS isn't the only one who is upset about switching health insurance. Congressional staffers were so upset by the potential shift in their healthcare coverage that the president himself took on the challenge earlier this week of coming up with a solution. The result? Congressional staffers essentially get a waiver! While you average Americans will be forced to deal with any of the potential fallout from shifting to ObamaCare, staffers on Capitol Hill won't have to worry about their own healthcare costs rising. According to a report in the Politico (http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/capitol-hill-obamacare-crisis-solved-95100.html): “The Office of Personnel Management, under heavy pressure from Capitol Hill, will issue regulations saying that the government can continue to make the employer contribution to the health plans of members and aides, according to several Hill sources.” In other words, we the taxpayers will subsidies the costs for Congress to move into ObamaCare exchanges.

So while the administration is busy making exceptions for Congress and big business, who is stuck having to deal with ObamaCare as it was originally passed? Individuals and small business owners! I've chronicled the reports of how rates will be rising around the country, by more than 100% in certain states. But did you also know that the Obama administration is engaged in some tricky math that may make ObamaCare unavoidable for more small businesses? A report today in the Washington Examiner (http://washingtonexaminer.com/sorry-businesses-cannot-avoid-obamacare-by-switching-to-part-time-staff/article/2533781) explains that falling under the 50 employee threshold isn't as simple as just having 50 full-time workers. There is apparently a formula which counts a certain number of part-time workers as full-time, meaning that it is still possible to hit the 50 employee threshold with less than 50 full-time workers! According to a website created by the Small Business Administration (http://washingtonexaminer.com/sorry-businesses-cannot-avoid-obamacare-by-switching-to-part-time-staff/article/2533781), "Example: Company X has 40 full-time employees working 40 hours per week, along with 20 part-time employees working 15 hours per week. The 20 part-time employees are counted as 10 full-time equivalent employees. Company X has 50 full-time employees and is subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions." In other words, ObamaCare strives to nail small businesses while making exceptions for Congressional staff members in Washington DC. Truly an outrage.

http://www.hannity.com/article/nobody-wants-obamacare/17790