Blanche Lincoln Sacks Workers Once Again

[Omaha Steve]

This is from an upcoming op-ed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazzette from a representative of SMACNA who is the HVAC industry's union contractor and the SMWIA's industry partner.

Senator Lincoln has just announced she is intending to oppose an amendment in the Senate bill requiring the largest third of construction small businesses to offer insurance to their employee. Instead she will support a giant loophole in the Senate passed health bill to allow 97% of construction companies (less than 50 employees) to skip out on paying a cent for health insurance for their workers. This loophole to allow most employers to avoid offering insurance will leave the unpaid bills of uninsured workers to continue piling up every day at Arkansas hospitals, state Medicaid offices, charity care, "Good Samaritan Funds" and in public assistance programs. Worst of all, families buying insurance policies will pay a lot more for their coverage. Premium surcharges of at least $1,500 are in every policy to cover the uninsured employees working in construction and other dangerous jobs where injuries are common and insurance is vital to family economic security.Studies show every insurance policy surcharge goes to pay for the unpaid worker health care bills left behind by employers dodging their responsibility to provide employee insurance benefits. Who pays the health bills for most of the construction industry's employees, the hard working men and women doing back-breaking work for often successful companies without insurance? Senator Lincoln knows... Arkansas taxpayers, Medicaid, the insured and charities, now strained to the breaking point.The number of the uninsured working in construction spiked in Arkansas over the last decade, even during the greatest construction economy in history. In Arkansas and across the nation irresponsible businesses began to drop coverage, shift employee health costs "off the books" to the public assistance network of programs and to the insurance premiums of the insured. While the Congress included in the health bills language to stop this cost-shift to everyone with insurance and struggling medical providers, Senator Lincoln appears to support the cost-shifting construction firms opposing employee health security.To be able to continue this unscrupulous insurance avoidance practice, businesses with less than 50 employees refusing to insure their full-time workforce need the vote and voice of Senator Lincoln. Employees worried about their promised health insurance will be watching. Watching to see if Senator Lincoln is protecting the needs of Arkansas workers or siding with the firms shifting their workforce costs to others.After all... the average family already pays too much for insurance without subsidizing construction's uninsured. Contact Senator Lincoln and tell her your insurance policy is already too expensive and you do not want to pay more so irresponsible businesses can pay nothing for employee health insurance.

[gateley]

1. When is she up for reelection? I hope her constituents take notice. nt

[pscot]

2. She's up this year

She must believe noone will call her on this stuff. And unless she gets a primary opponent, she's probably right. Though for the life of me,I can't see why Democratic voters would want to turn out to vote for her, much less work for her reelection.

[gateley]

3. I would think her seat would be prime for picking if someone

else steps up. Let's hope.

[liskddksil]

4. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter has made some signals

he recently met with some bloggers and union leaders in DC. I hope he gets in.

[gateley]

5. It will be worth keeping an eye on -- we need to get her gone! nt