Even the IRS' own employees union opposes Obamacare for its members

Wednesday, July 31, 2013 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: Obamacare, IRS, employees union

(NaturalNews) Opponents of Obamacare have been warning Americans for years of the damage it will do to U.S. healthcare in general, the insurance industry and the economy at large. The president's supporters have always downplayed those warnings, and they include the nation's largest unions.

But as the date approaches when all of Obamacare's damaging provisions take effect, former supporters of the president and his healthcare "reform" law are now starting to break ranks. They, too, see the approaching tsunami and are scrambling for cover.

That includes unions, and at least one that might surprise you - the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS employees, the agency responsible for enforcing Obamacare's myriad of fines, punishments and punitive actions.

Government unions want an exemption too

In recent days the NTEU has begun urging its members to "oppose legislation that would force federal employees off their government healthcare plans and onto the state and national healthcare exchanges established under Obamacare," CNSNews.com reported.

At present, Congress members and their staff are required to participate in the health insurance exchanges set up under the law and which take effect Oct. 1. But a bill - HR 1780 - which has been introduced by Rep. David Camp, R-Mich., extends the requirement to all federal employees as well - and the idea has not gone over well with government unions.

On the NTEU website, members are being asked to email their representatives and senators to oppose Camp's bill [http://capwiz.com]. On the site, there is a sample form letter that members can just sign electronically, or rewrite it to make it more personal:

I am a federal employee and one of your constituents. I am very concerned about legislation that has been introduced by Congressman Dave Camp to push federal employees out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and into the insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

H.R. 1780 would put federal employees in a special class where they would be prohibited from receiving health insurance through their employer. It would treat federal employees differently from state and local government employees and most employees of large private sector companies who receive health insurance benefits through their employer. The primary purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to provide a marketplace for the sale and purchase of health insurance for those who do not have such coverage - not to take coverage away from employees who already receive it through their employers.

I work hard and am proud of the services that I provide to your constituents every day. One of the main benefits I receive as a federal employee is the ability to purchase health insurance coverage through the FEHBP with an employer contribution towards those benefits. Please let me know your views on this legislation. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Finally, Obamacare supporters are seeing the light - but too late

The NTEU isn't the only union engaged in a desperate attempt to exempt its members from a law that is set to ravage most everyone else. Others are as well, both public and private sector organized labor groups, reports CNSNews.

In mid-July, The Wall Street Journal reported that three major unions - including one of the most influential, the Teamsters Union - wrote a highly critical letter to Democratic leaders in Congress, claiming (rightfully) that Obamacare will "destroy the very health and wellbeing of our members along with millions of other hardworking Americans."

"When you and the President sought our support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you pledged that if we liked the health plans we have now, we could keep them. Sadly, that promise is under threat. Right now, unless you and the Obama Administration enact an equitable fix, the ACA will shatter not only our hard-earned health benefits, but destroy the foundation of the 40 hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class," the letter begins.

We've known since the beginning that Obamacare is a public policy disaster, but apparently it is just beginning to sink in with some groups of former supporters. Like us, they are figuring out that Obamacare is a Marxist solution in search of a free-market problem, and that the government-imposed "fix" is akin to shoving a round peg into a square hole. Nothing is solved, but the problem just got more pronounced.

Glad to have you on board, finally, but it may just be too little, too late.

Sources:

http://cnsnews.com

http://blogs.wsj.com

http://www.opensecrets.org