From Vision to America and CNS News.com::
Three SEIU Locals--Including Chicago Chapter--Waived From Obamacare Requirement
Monday, January 24, 2011
By Fred Lucas
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) rests her arm on an autographed copy of the health care law legislation. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
(CNSNews.com) – Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, have received temporary waivers from a provision in the Obamacare law.
The three SEIU chapters include the Local 25 in Obama’s hometown of Chicago.
The waivers allow health insurance plans to limit how much they will spend on a policy holder’s medical coverage for a given year. Under the new health care law, however, such annual limits are phased out by the year 2014. (Under HHS regulations, annual limits can be no less than $750,000 for 2011, no less than $1.25 million in 2012 and no less than $2 million in 2013.)
The SEIU, with more than 2 million members nationally, includes health care workers, janitors, security guards, and state and local government workers.
The three SEIU locals, covering a total of 36,064 enrollees, are covered by the federal waivers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS gave a waiver to Local 25 SEIU in Chicago with 31,000 enrollees on Oct. 1, 2010; to Local 1199 SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund with 4,544 enrollees on Oct. 10, 2010; and to the SEIU Local 1 Cleveland Welfare Fund with 520 enrollees on Nov. 15, 2010.
So far, the Obama administration has issued waivers to 222 entities, including businesses, unions and charitable organizations. Of that total, 45 were labor organizations.
A total of 1,507,418 enrollees are now included in the waivers. More than one-third -- 512,315 – of the enrollees affected were insured by union health plans.
SEIU Local 1199’s health plan put a $50,000 cap on medical expenses for its New Jersey nursing home workers, according to 1199 SEIU spokeswoman Leah Gonzalez. That’s $700,000 under the 2011 limit stipulated by HHS regulations.
In September, HHS announced it would grant waivers to employers to prevent some workers from losing their benefits if the insurer could not meet new health care law’s requirements on annual limits. The waivers are granted by HHS if the department determines “compliance with the interim final regulations would result in a significant decrease in access to benefits or a significant increase in premiums,” according to a Sept. 3 memo by Steve L. Larson, director of the HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
Local 1199, SEIU's Greater New York Benefit Fund, requested the waiver specifically with respect to its separate plan for New Jersey members, according to Gonzalez. This waiver primarily affects low-wage New Jersey nursing home workers whose health care plan provides medical, hospital, prescription, dental and vision benefits.
The New Jersey members now have an annual maximum health care benefit of $50,000. Gonzalez said fewer than 1 percent of members have ever reached that cap, and that those members who did received additional help.
“The members’ health benefits are paid for by the employer and are negotiated through collective bargaining,” Gonzalez said in a written statement to CNSNews.com. “Several years ago, facing limited dollars from the employers for this small group, the members themselves chose how to shape their health plan to get the most out of their coverage.”
Gonzalez added that prescriptions are excluded from the cap. “For example, if a member maxes out from a hospital stay, she/he can continue to get their life-saving medications throughout the year while accessing alternative coverage at low-cost community clinics.”
Neither SEIU Local 25 nor Local 1, nor the national organization responded to CNSNews.com’s request for comment.
The SEIU's Committee on Political Education made $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures on Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. SEIU-affiliated groups in Illinois have long supported Obama’s campaigns and endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2004. In 2008, the national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
And this, related, also from CNS News.com:
SEIU PAC Spent $27 Million Supporting Obama’s Election, FEC Filing Says
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political action committee made more than $27 million in independent expenditures in support of President-elect Barack Obama's presidential campaign, according to a filing the PAC made with the Federal Election Commission.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By Fred Lucas
President-elect Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. After consulting with economists Obama's advisers are contemplating an economic recovery plan that could cost as much as $1 trillion over two years. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political action committee made more than $27 million in independent expenditures in support of President-elect Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, according to a filing the PAC made with the Federal Election Commission.
SEIU-affiliated groups in Illinois have long supported Obama’s campaigns and endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2004. In 2008, the national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The SEIU calls itself the fastest growing union in North America, with 1.1 million members in health care fields, 225,000 members who are building cleaning and security workers, and 850,000 state and local government employees.
The union has been in the news recently after it was mentioned in the criminal complaint against Illinois’s Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Neither the union nor Obama is alleged to have done anything wrong in the Blagojevich scandal. And both have denied any involvement.
The SEIU's Committee on Political Education (SEIU COPE), the union’s political action committee, which is funded by contributions from union members, contributed $10,000 to Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
When Obama was facing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the Democratic presidential primary season that lasted until June, the SEIU announced in February it was backing Obama.
“This is about more than one election,” SEIU National President Andy Stern said in announcing the endorsement of Obama. “It’s about building the next generation of America,” he said. “Barack Obama is creating the broadest and deepest coalition of voters we’ve ever seen.”
The political action committee SEIU COPE spent $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures in support of Obama in the presidential election, according to an FEC filing made by the group on Nov. 3 – the day before the election. Independent expenditures are not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.
“Members choose to contribute to COPE,” SEIU spokeswoman Ali Jost told CNSNews.com. “The average contribution is $5 per month. It’s little people making a big difference.”
Jost said the union’s accountants were still researching the final tally of independent expenditures spent on Obama’s election. Regarding the $27.8 million figure in the FEC filing, she said, “We are very good at providing the appropriate numbers to them, so I think that it’s safe to assume that is correct.”
The SEIU Web site boasts of the union’s effort in helping to get Obama elected, saying members knocked on 1.87 million doors, made 4.4 million phone calls, registered 85,914 voters and sent more than 2.5 million pieces of mail in support of Obama. Another statement says SEIU leaders visited seven states in the final weekend before the election to get out the vote for Obama and other candidates.
In a July 18 report to the FEC, the PAC reported having spent a year-to-date total of $96,379 on independent expenditures to support Obama’s election. An Aug. 4 report showed that it climbed to $1,110,625.31. In the Aug. 20 report to the FEC, it climbed to $3,919,905.31, according to the filing with the FEC. In the Sept. 14 report, it had almost doubled to $7,239,363.93.
As the election neared, the PAC’s independent expenditures in support of Obama’s presidential campaign continued to escalate. By Oct. 1, they had climbed to $9,199,461.14; in an Oct. 25 report, to $13,532,289.05; in an Oct. 30 report, to $19,956,126.77; and to $26,474,776.91 in a Nov. 1 report to the FEC.
The most recent report on SEIU COPE’s independent expenditures on behalf of Obama was filed on Nov. 3, according to the FEC. It shows the PAC by that point had made $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures in support of Obama’s election.
Three SEIU Locals--Including Chicago Chapter--Waived From Obamacare Requirement
Monday, January 24, 2011
By Fred Lucas
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) rests her arm on an autographed copy of the health care law legislation. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
(CNSNews.com) – Three local chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), whose political action committee spent $27 million supporting Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, have received temporary waivers from a provision in the Obamacare law.
The three SEIU chapters include the Local 25 in Obama’s hometown of Chicago.
The waivers allow health insurance plans to limit how much they will spend on a policy holder’s medical coverage for a given year. Under the new health care law, however, such annual limits are phased out by the year 2014. (Under HHS regulations, annual limits can be no less than $750,000 for 2011, no less than $1.25 million in 2012 and no less than $2 million in 2013.)
The SEIU, with more than 2 million members nationally, includes health care workers, janitors, security guards, and state and local government workers.
The three SEIU locals, covering a total of 36,064 enrollees, are covered by the federal waivers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
HHS gave a waiver to Local 25 SEIU in Chicago with 31,000 enrollees on Oct. 1, 2010; to Local 1199 SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund with 4,544 enrollees on Oct. 10, 2010; and to the SEIU Local 1 Cleveland Welfare Fund with 520 enrollees on Nov. 15, 2010.
So far, the Obama administration has issued waivers to 222 entities, including businesses, unions and charitable organizations. Of that total, 45 were labor organizations.
A total of 1,507,418 enrollees are now included in the waivers. More than one-third -- 512,315 – of the enrollees affected were insured by union health plans.
SEIU Local 1199’s health plan put a $50,000 cap on medical expenses for its New Jersey nursing home workers, according to 1199 SEIU spokeswoman Leah Gonzalez. That’s $700,000 under the 2011 limit stipulated by HHS regulations.
In September, HHS announced it would grant waivers to employers to prevent some workers from losing their benefits if the insurer could not meet new health care law’s requirements on annual limits. The waivers are granted by HHS if the department determines “compliance with the interim final regulations would result in a significant decrease in access to benefits or a significant increase in premiums,” according to a Sept. 3 memo by Steve L. Larson, director of the HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
Local 1199, SEIU's Greater New York Benefit Fund, requested the waiver specifically with respect to its separate plan for New Jersey members, according to Gonzalez. This waiver primarily affects low-wage New Jersey nursing home workers whose health care plan provides medical, hospital, prescription, dental and vision benefits.
The New Jersey members now have an annual maximum health care benefit of $50,000. Gonzalez said fewer than 1 percent of members have ever reached that cap, and that those members who did received additional help.
“The members’ health benefits are paid for by the employer and are negotiated through collective bargaining,” Gonzalez said in a written statement to CNSNews.com. “Several years ago, facing limited dollars from the employers for this small group, the members themselves chose how to shape their health plan to get the most out of their coverage.”
Gonzalez added that prescriptions are excluded from the cap. “For example, if a member maxes out from a hospital stay, she/he can continue to get their life-saving medications throughout the year while accessing alternative coverage at low-cost community clinics.”
Neither SEIU Local 25 nor Local 1, nor the national organization responded to CNSNews.com’s request for comment.
The SEIU's Committee on Political Education made $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures on Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. SEIU-affiliated groups in Illinois have long supported Obama’s campaigns and endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2004. In 2008, the national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
And this, related, also from CNS News.com:
SEIU PAC Spent $27 Million Supporting Obama’s Election, FEC Filing Says
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political action committee made more than $27 million in independent expenditures in support of President-elect Barack Obama's presidential campaign, according to a filing the PAC made with the Federal Election Commission.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
By Fred Lucas
President-elect Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. After consulting with economists Obama's advisers are contemplating an economic recovery plan that could cost as much as $1 trillion over two years. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political action committee made more than $27 million in independent expenditures in support of President-elect Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, according to a filing the PAC made with the Federal Election Commission.
SEIU-affiliated groups in Illinois have long supported Obama’s campaigns and endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in 2004. In 2008, the national union backed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The SEIU calls itself the fastest growing union in North America, with 1.1 million members in health care fields, 225,000 members who are building cleaning and security workers, and 850,000 state and local government employees.
The union has been in the news recently after it was mentioned in the criminal complaint against Illinois’s Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Neither the union nor Obama is alleged to have done anything wrong in the Blagojevich scandal. And both have denied any involvement.
The SEIU's Committee on Political Education (SEIU COPE), the union’s political action committee, which is funded by contributions from union members, contributed $10,000 to Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
When Obama was facing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the Democratic presidential primary season that lasted until June, the SEIU announced in February it was backing Obama.
“This is about more than one election,” SEIU National President Andy Stern said in announcing the endorsement of Obama. “It’s about building the next generation of America,” he said. “Barack Obama is creating the broadest and deepest coalition of voters we’ve ever seen.”
The political action committee SEIU COPE spent $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures in support of Obama in the presidential election, according to an FEC filing made by the group on Nov. 3 – the day before the election. Independent expenditures are not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.
“Members choose to contribute to COPE,” SEIU spokeswoman Ali Jost told CNSNews.com. “The average contribution is $5 per month. It’s little people making a big difference.”
Jost said the union’s accountants were still researching the final tally of independent expenditures spent on Obama’s election. Regarding the $27.8 million figure in the FEC filing, she said, “We are very good at providing the appropriate numbers to them, so I think that it’s safe to assume that is correct.”
The SEIU Web site boasts of the union’s effort in helping to get Obama elected, saying members knocked on 1.87 million doors, made 4.4 million phone calls, registered 85,914 voters and sent more than 2.5 million pieces of mail in support of Obama. Another statement says SEIU leaders visited seven states in the final weekend before the election to get out the vote for Obama and other candidates.
In a July 18 report to the FEC, the PAC reported having spent a year-to-date total of $96,379 on independent expenditures to support Obama’s election. An Aug. 4 report showed that it climbed to $1,110,625.31. In the Aug. 20 report to the FEC, it climbed to $3,919,905.31, according to the filing with the FEC. In the Sept. 14 report, it had almost doubled to $7,239,363.93.
As the election neared, the PAC’s independent expenditures in support of Obama’s presidential campaign continued to escalate. By Oct. 1, they had climbed to $9,199,461.14; in an Oct. 25 report, to $13,532,289.05; in an Oct. 30 report, to $19,956,126.77; and to $26,474,776.91 in a Nov. 1 report to the FEC.
The most recent report on SEIU COPE’s independent expenditures on behalf of Obama was filed on Nov. 3, according to the FEC. It shows the PAC by that point had made $27,829,845.91 in independent expenditures in support of Obama’s election.
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