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.
Or maybe PRN jobs are advantageous to people, such as myself, who would rather provide their own low premium, high deductible health insurance because, we, you,know, take care of ourselves. It's ridiculous that healthy people have to subsidize healthcare for overweight, diabetic people who don't take care of themselves. But sadly, there's no financial incentive for being healthy and taking care of our bodies.
Plenty of people who eat right and exercise end up with cancer, get pneumonia, or get hit by cars.
Or maybe PRN jobs are advantageous to people such as myself, who would rather provide their own low premium, high deductible health insurance because, we, you,know, take care of ourselves. It's ridiculous that healthy people have to subsidize healthcare for overweight, diabetic people who don't take care of themselves. But sadly, there's no financial incentive for being healthy and taking care of our bodies. [/quote']
This is actually how insurance works. The ACA did not make this a new thing.
Agreed. I just wasn't sure that the poster I responded to realized that this has generally been how insurance worked in the first place. They'd go belly up without healthy people paying in.
Large numbers of employers were doing this long before anyone even started talking about reforming healthcare, only hiring people into part-time positions in order to avoid paying them benefits. It's been rampant in the business and finance worlds for many years. Provisions of the ACA certainly incentivize more employers to do this, but it's not anything new, and certainly not anything that the ACA "made completely legal." It's always been completely legal.
Reminds me of looking at employment postings from a major healthcare employer and reading literally dozens of "20 hrs or less" and "no benefits" in the postings. Not one FTE benefitted position listed. This was almost 20 years ago that this employer got it right.
Agreed. I just wasn't sure that the poster I responded to realized that this has generally been how insurance worked in the first place. They'd go belly up without healthy people paying in.
Agree with both comments. The healthy have always subsidized the sick that is the norm. I think what the ACA did is brought that dirty little secret to the forefront.
I am also experiencing the same thing as the original poster. I wok (2) PRN jobs and they have both said I can only work at most 2 days a week because of Obamacare.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.
I am also experiencing the same thing as the original poster. I wok (2) PRN jobs and they have both said I can only work at most 2 days a week because of Obamacare.
I am also experiencing the same thing as the original poster. I wok (2) PRN jobs and they have both said I can only work at most 2 days a week because of Obamacare.
So why instead of reducing your hours they don't do the right thing and offer you and other PRN employees health insurance and thats the end of it. Because is all about huge profits and not caring about the one who actually generates it ( Nurses, etc).
Not_A_Hat_Person, RN
2,900 Posts
Plenty of people who eat right and exercise end up with cancer, get pneumonia, or get hit by cars.