Senate bill changes FT status for healthcare purposes to 40 hours a week leaving us out

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Under the current IRS code, "full time" employment is an average of 30 hours a week for health insurance qualification. H.R. 30, which passed the House of Representatives this week changes that status for workers who work 36 hour weeks. Full time for insurance qualification will now be those who work 40 hours in a work week. A link to the bill is below.

H.R.30 - Save American Workers Act of 2015

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/30/text

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF 30-HOUR THRESHOLD FOR CLASSIFICATION AS FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE FOR PURPOSES OF THE EMPLOYER MANDATE IN THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT AND REPLACEMENT WITH 40 HOURS.

Consider writing your Senators about this bill.

Locate Senator: U.S. Senate: Senators of the 114th Congress

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Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry.

Will this be based on scheduled hours or actual hours worked. I know most 36 hour weeks actually end up being over 40. If it's based on scheduled hours that's just not fair to health care professionals and others fields with 12 hour shifts.

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The hours you are hired to work, unfortunately. Employers still have the option to offer insurance of course but they will not be required to under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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"If you like your plan, you can keep your plan."

Suckers!

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Obama has gone on the record saying he will veto it at least.

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Now that the Repugs are in charge of Congress, we can expect a steady stream of these bills attempting to whittle away the ACA. They recognize that they can't repeal it outright, so they're going to try the ol' "death of a thousand papercuts" approach.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

I wonder if Congress members believe that they work a fulltime job?

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Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

Aren't the Republicans pushing the bill so that people can work more hours? If you're considered full time at 30 you get insurance. Lots of employers cut hrs to 28-29 so that their part time employees would meet that requirement.

I'm a little confused about the above posts, as I see it a different way. I think I might be wrong.

Say I was a part time worker before ACA. I worked 36-38 hrs a week because full time was 40.

Then the ACA went into affect and my employer cut me to 28 hrs, to meet the ACA requirement of 30 hrs as full time. I get 10 less hrs a week as a part time employee and can no longer pay all the bills I paid on 38 hrs a week.

How is that a good thing?

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.
Now that the Repugs are in charge of Congress

Nice language, and this is how professional nurses have a dialog.

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.
Aren't the Republicans pushing the bill so that people can work more hours? If you're considered full time at 30 you get insurance. Lots of employers cut hrs to 28-29 so that their part time employees would meet that requirement.

I'm a little confused about the above posts, as I see it a different way. I think I might be wrong.

I am with you I am trying to look at the big picture of this proposal before making a judgment. Call me an Independent....who wants the facts.

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I would very much like to strike up more of a conversation around this subject. I am writing an Issue Paper about this...

Yes, the Republicans are pushing for the ACA to change the definition of full time from 30 hours per week to 40 hours. There have been many documented cases of employers reducing their employees' hours to

I work at a hospital that is part of a larger network, so I know that my health insurance is 'safe.' However, I would think it embarassing for the profession to have nurses lose their employer-provided health insurance because of the typical 12 hour shifts that they pull.

I will be writing a letter to my elected representatives to try and seek an amendment to this definition. While I do feel that increasing the hours will be beneficial to employees, and potentially allow them to increase their hours worked... The cynic in me is fearful that the slippery slope will become a cliff, and everyone in a small business will lose insurance.

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Specializes in L&D, Women's Health.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Just contacted my US Senators and chewed out my Rep.

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