I work PRN at a hospital, usually 36-48 hours per week. We have been told that because of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) we can no longer work more than 30 hours a week. While this doesn't officially take effect until Jan. 2015, our hospital is choosing to implement this now.
Of course, you can imagine, we are all upset, particularly those of us who work full-time hours. I choose to work PRN because I get paid more per hour and don't need benefits because I have insurance through my husband's employer.
Our hospital heavily utilizes PRN nurses both dedicated to a particular floor and a float pool. We all feel this is really going to negatively affect patient care and adequate staffing. I am going to find another PRN job to get the hours I need to work each week.
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
From page 13 of thye magazine:
... It's like the 2014 hospital version of "The dog ate my homework." Want to cut benefits for part-time RNs? It's because of the ACA. Want to make layoffs? Blame the ACA. Want to reduce the hours for per diem nurses? The ACA made us do it.
As soon as it was signed into law in 2010, hospitals started using the law and the "uncertainty" and "ambiguity" it supposedly created to justify all types of changes, mainly cuts to services and staffing.
The ACA has been invoked at multiple bargaining tables, including Sutter Health and Kaiser Permanente, usually as the basis for some type of argument that the hospital will collect less revenue through drops in reimbursement....
Hospitals never seem to anticipate that their revenue will rise due to the increased number of people eligible for Medicaid and who will now carry health insurance....
I agree with you HerringRN, except i'm surprised at the part about more Medicaid patients leading to increased revenue. My experience is in sub-acute rehab and there everyone complains about taking Medicaid patients because according to them, the facility either breaks even or loses money with the reimbursement level they get. Are they saying facilities will start receiving higher reimbursement for Medicaid patients with the ACA?
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
I agree with you HerringRN, except i'm surprised at the part about more Medicaid patients leading to increased revenue. My experience is in sub-acute rehab and there everyone complains about taking Medicaid patients because according to them, the facility either breaks even or loses money with the reimbursement level they get. Are they saying facilities will start receiving higher reimbursement for Medicaid patients with the ACA?
I didn't know so looked it up.
... Medicaid reimbursement rates will increase to at least 100% of Medicare rates in the 2013 and 2014 calendar years. The federal government will fund 100% of the difference in cost between what a state’s Medicaid rate was on July 1, 2009 and the applicable Medicare rate...
I am so sick of this "open your eyes" talk. Eyes are open, it's minds that are closed. Everyone is so set on that they are right and the rest are wrong.
Insurance companies are greedy. They only took on cases that were safe bets and wouldn't make them lose money. Well, that's over now... take that you greedy, evil-doers!
"They shouldn't even call it insurance. They just should call it ''in case ****.'' l give a company some money in case **** happens. Now, if **** don't happen, shouldn't l get my money back?" - Chris Rock
Ummm if you can't afford insurance for the employees you have now, isn't that already like you had more kids than you can feed and clothe?
I'm just glad employers are going to be made to do something they should have already been doing, which is coughing up more cash and hiring like they are supposed to. There is no way a per diem employee should be getting full time hours every week. That's what full time staff are for. Prn is as needed. If you staff appropriately you shouldn't have needs like that every week.
I am not speaking for any other practice settings, but in the SARs where i work, it makes sense to use me instead of creating another FT or PT position. Both companies that I do PRN work for have multiple facilities and a census that is constantly fluctuating. They are also generous with the vacation /personal time for their regular employees. MOST weeks i get full time hours or close to it, but not absolutely EVERY week and it's not guaranteed.
if you hire a regular employee, you would need to provide them with a guaranteed number of hours per week, or a reasonable range at least. Someone looking for the stability of a staff position is not going to go for 'you'll probably get full time hours most weeks but maybe not'. They did try to create a floating position last year, and no one was willing to drive between three different counties to work a random and unpredictable schedule without a guarantee of hours.
The more I read, the more confused I get. Is the difference between per diem and FT in title only? ALL nurses are considered per diem where I work, but we have regular schedules, must request time off and are penalized for call-offs by losing a vacation day. I work anywhere from 48-60 hours a week, and that isn't changing despite the new rules. I may be classified as per diem, but I'm basically treated as a regular employee. Can someone make sense of this for me?
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
The more I read, the more confused I get. Is the difference between per diem and FT in title only? ALL nurses are considered per diem where I work, but we have regular schedules, must request time off and are penalized for call-offs by losing a vacation day. I work anywhere from 48-60 hours a week, and that isn't changing despite the new rules. I may be classified as per diem, but I'm basically treated as a regular employee. Can someone make sense of this for me?
So you are expected to work full time hours without any of the benefits associated with full time employment? None of the security, no paid days off, no health insurance?
So you are expected to work full time hours without any of the benefits associated with full time employment? None of the security, no paid days off, no health insurance?
Yep. It's odd, because a nurses don't get benefits, but office staff do. So, the janitor gets insurance, but I don't.
Yep. It's odd, because a nurses don't get benefits, but office staff do. So, the janitor gets insurance, but I don't.
If you work 48-60 a week, or anything more than 30, then they are now required to give you health benefits, it doesn't matter if they prefer to still call you per diem or not.
To the OP: your employer is lying to you, manipulating you and then actually making you believe that it's someone else's fault that they are cutting your hours. There is a real controversy in America right now with cheapskate employers and the Right Wing political agenda to sabotage the ACA. Your employer is CHOOSING not to cover you and cut your hours and then has the audacity to blame "Obamacare" when they continue to make a profit but just don't want to cut into any of their bonuses or profit to do the right thing. It's disgusting that there is such an attack on the ACA, the brainwashing and manipulation that goes on with "anti-Obamacare" people and corrupt employers. Please don't be that person, who falls for their lies.
To the poster that said it would cost $100,000 to insure 50 people, you better show us some proof because that dollar amount is beyond outrageous!
I bet most of the negative comments come from people who already have the best coverage money can buy. I AM PROUD TO SAY I GOT A VERY AFFORDABLE HEALTHPLAN THROUGH HEALTHCARE.GOV. I WILL GLADLY SHARE MY STATS AND PROOF THAT I SIGNED UP AND WAS ACTUALLY ON THE SITE. $26.33 PER MONTH FOR ME, THANK GOD FOR THE PRESIDENT!
THE AVERAGE PLAN IN MY AREA COST $250 PER MONTH WITH NO SUBSIDY. $250 x 50 people =$12,500. Even if it was $500 a month per person that is only $25,000. Please show me documents that a small business owner with 50 employees pays $100,000 to insure workers.
I know an insurance broker that just might like to have a conversation with you.
Actually this post is inspiring me to challenge people to get proof of these outrageous stories everyone is talking about. I will gladly personally poll all small business owners I know to get the TRUTH and share my findings here. I will gladly share information about the MANY positive stories of millions of people who now have healthcare and beginning in May will start using their benefits.
For the first time in a year I am going to make several appointments to get back in track with my health. Others like me will be flooding healthcare practices getting our money's worth.
When the dust settles we shall see what fools the Republican Party are, when it comes out that their billionaire friends help pay people to troll social media sites like this one to lie to gullible people who are confused. Not to mention they gave aid money to the Ukraine but refuse to renew unemployment insurance for Americans. They will be voted out of the house and senate in November.
herring_RN, ASN, BSN
3,651 Posts
From page 13 of thye magazine: