U. of Minnesota destroys its healthcare plans in order to save them
It looks like another campus is falling victim to Obamacare insurance requirements.
The University of Minnesota made its healthcare plans worse in order to avoid Obamacare-related penalties. Robby Soave of The Daily Caller has the details:
The Affordable Care Act levels an excise tax on high-value health coverage plans, and UM would have to pay $48 million with its existing plans. Instead, the university is lowering the quality of its coverage.
“The Office of Human Resources announced in a July email that it was making changes to the UPlan, the employee healthcare program, including adding a deductible and increasing copays for primary and specialty care,” according to the Minnesota Daily. “The email said the cost increases were necessary to help the University avoid a $48 million excise tax in 2018.”
UM employees weren’t pleased with that deal, noted Campus Reform. But after UM offered a three percent salary increase, the union reluctantly agreed.
“This isn’t the deal the table committee wanted; it is better than what the University management committee had been proposing and better than what most other employee groups received,” said the union in a statement.
The deal has not yet been approved by UM’s Board of Regents, however.
UM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Thanks, Obama! University must destroy health plans to stay compliant (The Daily Caller)