Several million employees across the US receive health insurance benefits through what is called a “multi-employer” plan, or otherwise known as a Taft-Hartley plan. These plans currently cover unionized workers in retail, construction, transportation and other industries with seasonal or temporary employment. These plans are typically included in the employers collective bargaining agreements, and are typically fairly expensive.
The Affordable Care Act creates problems for these plans on two fronts. First, the current multi-employer plans will have to be significantly altered to meet the minimum requirements of the ACA. These plans will have to be modified to cover dependents up to age 26, eliminate annual or lifetime coverage limits, and extend coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. These changes will cause premiums to significantly rise over what employers have typically been paying.
The second issue that could cause problems is the attractiveness of state insurance exchanges where similar benefits may be obtained by workers at the same or lessor cost due to the subsidized nature of these exchanges.
The real question for both the ACA and Taft Hartley plans is if they can co-exist in todays healthcare market.
