I believe the promise was “if you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” Funny how things change.

Spencer Irvine of Accuracy in Academia reports.

Obamacare hits George Washington University

The faculty at George Washington University made substantial contributions to President Obama when he was seeking that office. They are about to contribute heavily towards their own medical care now that his Obamacare is the law of the land.

George Washington University’s student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, reports that the university has “traded in a more expensive employee health care plan to avoid paying nearly $1 million in additional taxes.” The article noted that GWU will offer “a cheaper plan to ease faculty concerns about rising costs.”

The new plan offered by the university is a high-deductible plan, meaning it will help cut down how much families will pay out-of-pocket. The university’s Vice President for Human Resources, Sabrina Ellis, told the Faculty Senate that the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac Tax” will start in 2018 and force the university to pay almost $1 million due to their “high-end plans.”

Ellis said, “The goal is to take steps now, in anticipation of the excise tax, to use our benefit dollars wisely in keeping the plans affordable.”

According to the student newspaper, the new option was the result of a year of lobbying by the faculty to start lower insurance payments. “Between 2012 and 2014, employee out-of-pocket costs grew by 30.5 percentage points. Out-of-pocket costs for employees rose about 3 percent this year.”

The new plan will cost about $1,400 a year for employees, when compared to the old premium plan, which was around $2,100 a year. Since 132 faculty members were on the old premium plan, they will now have to switch to the newer plan. But, even then, faculty members were upset the university did not cover more out-of-pocket costs. A history and international affairs professor, Benjamin Hopkins, said, “The insurance doesn’t kick in until you’ve spent $1,500 on the deductible, all out of pocket.