Скачать или смотреть Special Report: 40 Hours is Full Time Legisl

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- As many as 1 million people could soon lose their health insurance under a new proposal that's co-sponsored by North Carolina's newly elected U.S. Senator, Thom Tillis.

Under the Affordable Care Act, anyone working 30 hours or more is considered a full-time employee. The Tillis legislation would change that number to 40 hours per week, he says to save jobs.

Philip Lounsbury, an applicant at a recent job fair, says he's seen employers keeping workers below 30 hours himself in the past.

"They flat out told me that in the interview process that it would be under 30 hours a week," Lounsbury recalls.

Obamacare forces some businesses to provide healthcare for full-time employees and it defines full time as an average of 30 hours a week. Many Republicans, including Sen. Tillis, want to get rid of that part of the law.

"The problem that we're having is that for employers who may have people working 35 or 36 hours a week, they've made the decision to take them down to 29 hours a week," Tillis said.

That means less take home pay for many people in low-wage jobs.

CFO of the Brumit Restaurant Group Greg Catavenis says the 30 hour rule threatens to increase the cost of health insurance for all its employees.

He says the company may have to reduce the amount it pays toward each employee's premium to accommodate more insured workers.

"You're really going to have to start analyzing what an employee who works over 30 hours a week beyond their wages and everything else associated with employing them, adding this cost to it," Catavenis said.

Insurance providers say employers are faced with tough decisions.

"It's had a huge financial impact on some employers who suddenly had to cover many more employees under their benefits plan than they had in the past," Carol Owens with Insurance Services of Asheville said.

Changing full time status to mean employees who work at least 40 hours a week would take some of those healthcare costs away from business owners.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates about 1 million people would lose their employer sponsored health benefits, and those part-time employees working the same or even more hours would likely need government subsidies to get affordable insurance.

The CBO estimates it would add $18 billion to budget deficits over the next five years.

Tillis defends those numbers.

"Well, the other side of the equation are the number of jobs that are lost, if they do that, if they incur the additional cost of the Affordable Care Act that employers may have to take on,"

"I've spoken to a number of these same employers who've said if they're forced to provide that additional coverage they will have no option but to reduce the people on their payrolls," Tills said.

If Tillis is right, many others could be joining Philip Lounsbury in the search for a job with benefits.

"Of course we want to provide healthcare to as many people as possible," Tillis said. "We've got to solve some of the access to healthcare problems that we have, but the way we're going about it is wrong. It's costing people income. It's costing them hours and it's disrupting their lives and their families life."

The "40 hours is full time" legislation has passed the house, but still needs a vote in the senate.

Tillis is still uncertain whether they'll have enough votes to override a presidential veto.

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