More Americans Lose Health Plans

Obamacare Is Taking Health Plans Away From Grocery Workers, Amusement Park Personnel & More Spouses

OBAMA PROMISE: “If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it. Let me repeat that:  if you like your plan, you'll be able to keep it.” (President Obama, Remarks At The White House, Washington, D.C., 7/21/09)

Worker Losing Coverage Due To Obamacare: ‘My Reaction Was Pure Panic’

“After extending health care coverage to many of its part-time employees for years, Trader Joe's has told workers who log fewer than 30 hours a week that they will need to find insurance on the Obamacare exchanges next year, according to a confidential memo from the grocer's chief executive. …the company has apparently calculated that offering medical coverage to part-timers who work 18 hours or more is no longer worth the cost.” (“Trader Joe's To Drop Health Coverage For Part-Time Workers Under Obamacare: Memo,” The Huffington Post, 9/11/13)

• “A current Trader Joe's worker described the coverage she'll likely lose … ‘I can say that when I opened and read the letter yesterday my reaction was pure panic, followed quickly by anger.’” (“Trader Joe's To Drop Health Coverage For Part-Time Workers Under Obamacare: Memo,” The Huffington Post, 9/11/13)

“Wegmans, a beloved northeastern grocery chain with a reputation for treating its workers well, announced on Thursday that it would cut health-care benefits for some part-time employees in 2015, a year after Obamacare goes into full effect.” (“Wegmans Cuts Some Part-Time Workers' Health Benefits As Obamacare Looms,” The Huffington Post, 7/11/13)

• “Wegmans currently offers health benefits to part-time employees working at least 20 hours a week, but starting in 2015 will only offer benefits to those working 30 hours or more per week -- as required by Obamacare…” (“Wegmans Cuts Some Part-Time Workers' Health Benefits As Obamacare Looms,” The Huffington Post, 7/11/13)

“SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. is the latest major employer to tell its part-time and seasonal workers that their current health-insurance plan will be eliminated, beginning in January.” (“Theme Parks Ponder Health Insurance For Part-Time Workers," Orlando Sentinel, 9/1/13)

• “That's because the plan SeaWorld currently makes available to part-time and seasonal workers is an extremely limited benefit plan — often referred to as a "mini med" — that carries low premiums but also caps payouts. Such mini-med plans will soon be outlawed by the federal government's Affordable Care Act…” (“Theme Parks Ponder Health Insurance For Part-Time Workers," Orlando Sentinel, 9/1/13)

Coverage For Spouses Being Slashed

“…millions will likely lose the coverage they have, even if they want to keep it, once ObamaCare goes into effect. … A Towers Watson survey found that next year 12% of employers plan to exclude coverage for spouses who can get benefits from their own jobs, up from 4% this year.” (“Spouses, Unions Risk Losing Health Plans,” Investor's Business Daily, 8/29/13)

‘UPS to drop 15,000 spouses from insurance, cites Obamacare’ “United Parcel Service Inc. plans to remove thousands of spouses from its medical plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. The Atlanta-based logistics company points to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as a big reason for the decision, reports Kaiser Health News.” (“UPS To Drop 15,000 Spouses From Insurance, Cites Obamacare,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, 8/21/13)

• “Rising medical costs, ‘combined with the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of health care benefits to our employees at an affordable cost,’ UPS said in a memo to employees.” (“UPS To Drop 15,000 Spouses From Insurance, Cites Obamacare,” Atlanta Business Chronicle, 8/21/13)

University Of Virginia: “Starting Jan. 1, spouses who have access to coverage through their own employer will no longer be eligible for coverage… Provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act are projected to add $7.3 million to the cost of the University health plan in 2014 alone… Spouses who have access to ‘affordable health care that provides minimum value,’ as defined by the Affordable Care Act, through another employer will no longer be eligible for the U.Va. plan.” (“University Employees Will See Significant Changes to Health Plan This Year,” University of Virginia, 8/21/13)

“Excela Health will … drop coverage for employees' spouses’… Excela spokeswoman Robin Jennings said the cuts are necessary because of requirements under the Obama administration's health care legislation.” (“Excela Health Dropping Benefits For Part-Timers, Spouses,” Tribune-Review, 8/13/13)

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