LAS VEGAS — With questions ranging from whether it's still too late to throw out the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to just how much of the coverage costs will be passed on to employees, a breakout session at NACUSO's annual conference Wednesday brought forth confusion, concern and hints of frustration and anger on how implementation will impact credit unions.

Michael Brillati, president/CEO of The SALUS Group Benefits, and John Harris, president/CEO of CU Insurance Alliance LLC, shared detailed presentations on the incremental implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

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However, it was the riveting question-and-answer period at the end of the session that revealed how some credit unions and CUSOs are either unsure or against how much the wide-sweeping health insurance coverage initiative will affect the bottom line.

One attendee at the session in the Las Vegas Encore, a retired utility employee who works at a credit union in New York, expressed concerns and some anger over passing the costs to employees who may not be able to afford health insurance under PPACA.

Another wondered if it was too late to throw the act – popularly known as Obamacare –out altogether. The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

It was noted during the session that the “general public as a whole thinks this is going to cover all of their expenses” but that's not the case, said one of the attendees.

“The changes are actually increasing the costs,” said another session participant.

One of the burning questions that garnered more than a handful of nods in the rooms was “how are we going to make money off of this.” One of the session's presenters said there is still some confusion over that because “nothing has really been published on it.”

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