Virginia cuts part-time state workers hours in response to Obamacare

[Redfairen]

Source: Daily Kos

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has ordered state agencies to cap the hours of part-time and hourly employees to 29 hours per week to avoid hitting the Affordable Care Act's 30-hour threshold that would require the state to provide health insurance coverage to those employees.

The requirement is causing confusion throughout state agencies, including at the state's community colleges, where they would have to figure out how to cap the hours for some 9,000 adjunct faculty, and at agencies that provide direct community service.

“We’re trying to get a really good grasp of who we have, what are the jobs they’re doing, if they’re working more than 30 hours, is it necessary, why?” Secretary of Administration Lisa Hicks-Thomas, said in an interview Friday.

.......

The state estimates that providing health insurance to part-time employees could cost as much as $110 million a year. An AP report suggests that this might be an interim measure "until officials figure out how to comply with federal health insurance requirements regarding those who work more than 30 hours each week," but it's in the state's budget for this year. McDonnell is also still deciding whether or not to accept the Medicaid expansion offered under Obamacare, a decision that might be easier to make after facing backlash from state employees who will likely be denied insurance. Some of those employees could probably qualify for Medicaid under its more generous formula.

Read more: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/12/1186608/-Virginia-cuts-part-time-state-workers-hours-in-response-to-Obamacare

[SheilaT]

1. How the milk of human kindness flows through Republican veins.

Not.

[RKP5637]

2. Euthanasia - Vote Republican, Vote for Euthanasia of most citizens, that,

would solve all of the republican creatures problems with all living things. They are the American Terrorists and should be called out as such often. They want to absolutely destroy the fabric of what made this nation great.

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

16. better to euthanize

the repugs in Virginia.

[Ed Suspicious]

3. That's the spirit! What a bunch of fuckers. nt

[RKP5637]

4. And what drives me up the wall, there are enough low information, or anymore I think

plain stupid individuals, that will vote these fuckers back in, even if they have been harmed by these fuckers. That's how lame an electorate we sometimes have.

[neverforget]

5. God looked down and he needed assholes, so he made Republicans

[Ed Suspicious]

7. ...and the lord did grin. nt

[quadrature]

6. the writing is on the wall

employers are taking matters into their own hands, there will be
lots of 49 employee companies.

sorry, but no solution comes to mind, other than I think it would be helpful if Congress passed a budget, instead of passing the
17th debt-ceiling-increase in the last 12
months

[Ed Suspicious]

8. Universal health care will get here one way or another I guess.

[leftynyc]

25. I'm sure many of these cretins

consider themselves good Christians. Heaven forbid they take care of their employees rather than further lining their pockets. May each and every one of them burn in hell.

[KamaAina]

34. Repuke talking points faithfully copied from Fox News*.

[tkmorris]

36. Interesting perspective you have there

I'm sure I've heard it somewhere before. It'll come to me...

[Paulie]

41. Budget isn't anything but a framework

Appropriations are the actual spending laws. Budget means squat.

When someone talks about a budget I wonder where they get their information....

[Iliyah]

9. GOP are not from GOD's teaching

but from Rand who care only for self.

That is the GOP.

[tomm2thumbs]

10. Bob McDonnell should lose his then - he hasn't worked 30 hours in ANY week

Lazy SOB

[riverbendviewgal]

11. America is not the greatest country in the world

It has many, many people/government officials who seem like to be from the past where only the elite could have a good life.

It would be nice to see governor McDonnell get the same treatment he is giving "his" people.

Hopefully the American people will start to wake up and see what these evil republicans are doing to them.

BOYCOTT VIRGINIA!!

[Thinkingabout]

12. Now this is some kind of move. The state employees will be making less and therefore

Be entitled for state Medicaid. Now who is the dumb one, the state will still be paying for the health care, DUH. He will probably start cutting heads off to prevent brain tumors next.

[kitt6]

13. I used to think it was racism.

Now I know better. It's called Jealousy; Or some deep envy.

[kitt6]

14. Or all the above.

Every time this President comes out the right goes insane! Turn on right-wing radio. Savage, Levin; they are screaming.

[beac]

15. And yet, somehow, ol' "Bobs for Jobs" (his guv run slogan) managed to give all state

employees a 3% BONUS last year b/c he was such a jim-dandy fiscal manager (a.k.a. a man desperately trying to be picked for VP by Willard.)

McDonnell is one of the most disgusting GOP hacks out there and I hope this finally dashes his national dreams FOREVER.

My poor state.

[otohara]

17. No Wonder Gun Deaths Don't Bother Them

they don't give a shit about anybody

[Cha]

18. So will this be one of the Prime Motivators in the 2014 Gov Election in

Virginia? Is Terry McAuliffe looking good now?

Virginia gubernatorial poll: Terry McAuliffe up 5

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/virginia-governor-election-poll-terry-mcauliffe-85921.html

[KamaAina]

32. I still think we can find a better candidate than McAwful

but at this point, some guy who bags groceries at a Safeway in Arlington would look good by comparison.

[golfguru]

19. My wife's employer has cut most people to under 30 hours

So no benefits have to be paid. She can work 40 hours because her work is critical to
their business. But newer & younger employees are out of luck.

Whoever thinks businesses are run for philanthropy or justice or kindness, do not understand
business or capitalism.

[leftynyc]

26. I understand it very well

So I wont spend a dime in VA and wont frequent any company that does this. Then let the free market decide. Plenty of companies treat their employees well - we just have do our homework and know which ones they are.

[golfguru]

39. I have not come across many benevolent employers in my

37 years of working in various jobs. I am sure there are a few out there.
But my guess is for 90% of businesses the bottom line is first priority.

[leftynyc]

42. While bottom line is definitely

the priority, plenty of companies (the one I work for is one) make sure the employees are paid well and have health benefits, 401k matching plans, etc. Just look at the difference in how employees are treated at BJs vs Costco. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. The disgusting greed of the Walmart corp left that an easy choice.

[WCGreen]

20. What a fucking prick....

[Blue_Tires]

28. I tried to warn all those assclowns who stayed home on election day

or the ones who thought their "job" was done after they voted Obama into his first term...

[madrchsod]

21. "....human kindness is overflowing...

and i think it`s going to rain today...."

[raccoon]

22. I know of at least one SC state agency that did that. Maybe all of them. nt

[John2]

23. Voters can easily

back into their hands by voting Republicans out of office. The next Governor can reverse their damage caused by these Republicans. That should apply to Congress also. This country's main problem with everything is who we elect to Government. People in those red districts need to change. They are the ones putting these crazy people in Government. It is not President Obama causing division but the other way around. The Republican leaders know exactly what they are doing. They do all this race baiting and fear mongering just to get in office so they can create more damage. The actual Policies they pursue only benefits them and not the country as a whole. They want Policies that benefit people like the Koch brothers or organizations like the NRA. It is all about private enterprise and profits.

[KamaAina]

33. Retards?

Few, if any, of the people I know who have intellectual disabilities are repukes. And yes, many of them are politically aware, often more so than John Q. Public.

[kelliekat44]

27. The GOP is made up of some really evil people. nt

[Sunlei]

29. A republican gov can really f the state citizens. Let's hope Obama can raise the federal....

minimum wage to 9.00 an hour (from 7.25) In the speech the Pres.O. said, he asked our Congress to raise the wage.

That way all the states will have to raise their minimum to match. That's probably the fastest way to give workers more money as we know republican Govs don't work for their citizens. Even part time workers should have health insurance coverage of some basic type.

President Obama has asked for the federal wage to be raised. Now it's up to Congress. Only if Congress works for the people for a change. The federal minimum wage is their job. This is something the workers of America from all states should demand of their Congress.

[alarimer]

30. What an asshole

I hate Republicans. I'm sorry, but I do. Actually I'm not sorry. They are disgusting, horrible people. I hope they die of horrible diseases.

[Sunlei]

31. I <3 you! Happy Valentines day

[kimbutgar]

35. I hear you on that one

I feel the same way. They are the most despicable people in the US. I hope this backfires on them big time. Do you really think people are going to vote for republicans because republicans cut their working hours and healthcare? This would anger me big time.

[Yo_Mama]

37. They might

Because the private sector workers are also getting cut, so they can't afford the taxes to pay for the healthcare for the government workers that they (the private sector workers) haven't got themselves.

Yes, it's a race to the bottom that ultimately hurts everyone, but wasn't this implicit in the original bill?

Nor did the IRS regs just issued make things any better. A lot of people aren't going to get healthcare from employers, and they aren't going to be qualified for the subsidy from the exchanges either.

I think we may have something of a crisis on our hands.

[madville]

38. Employer-based healthcare is ridiculous

It has always put too much power into the hands of the employer. Very few people I know that have been able to get work lately have gotten full-time jobs over 30 hours a week, many employers are hiring <30 hours a week.

My brother said his company is evaluating now if they can save money by eliminating the health plan for their 80 employees. He said the fine is about 30% of what they currently pay per employee.

I really want to see these exchanges. People don't realize a typical family health plan can run around $1000 a month because they only pay $400 at their workplace and the employer pays the other $600 for example. Going to be a bunch of pissed off people when they see that rate quote if it's all coming out of their pocket.

I'm a federal employee and we may be looking at 22 days of furlough here soon, it's going to suck all around for everyone unfortunately.

[Yo_Mama]

40. If it ever made sense, it clearly doesn't now.

I have concluded that the entire reform bill is so deeply flawed that the best thing to do is junk it and go for a single payer system funded by a payroll tax.

We really can't afford this travesty any longer. The only people who are going to do well out of this are the insurance companies (an overhead we don't need) and a lot of health-providing private firms. I don't mind them making the profit, but right now that profit is really based on spending a great deal of money to attract the relatively small percentage of people with high-paying insurance. So it is wasteful and perverse - a great deal of money is invested in providing very high-end services to a few, but basic health care for the many is slighted.

We could collectively vomit in a bucket and create a better, more humane and more efficient health provision system than this.

When the bill was passed people thought the economy would be better in 2014, I suppose, but it is already clearly a failure and any rational person has to recognize that and deal with it.

As you imply, the basic problem is that this system is still based on employer-provided health insurance (to full-time employees only) and that approach simply cannot work any more.