Catherwood LibraryILR School

The Obama administration has officially refused a request by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and other major unions to pursue interpretations of the Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.) which would have allowed union members, whose employers had chosen to not provide health insurance and who were instead insured through their union, to access subsidies originally intended for uninsured Americans. Union leaders believe that the A.C.A., also known as Obamacare, will incentivize small- to medium-sized employers to drop their health insurance plans in favor of allowing employees to shop for their own plans in the healthcare insurance exchanges which will be set up by the law. The administration and other political groups view the language of the law as clearly distinguishing between uninsured persons, who are eligible to receive the tax break, and employees who are covered by single- or multi-employer plans.