Its called the Affordable Care Act, but President Barack Obamas health care law may turn out to be unaffordable for many low-wage workers, including employees at big chain restaurants, retail stores and hotels.

That might seem strange since the law requires medium-sized and large employers to offer affordable coverage or face fines.

But whats reasonable? Because of a wrinkle in the law, companies can meet their legal obligations by offering policies that would be too expensive for many low-wage workers. For the employee, its like a mirage attractive but out of reach.

The company can get off the hook, say corporate consultants and policy experts, but the employee could still face a federal requirement to get health insurance.

Many are expected to remain uninsured, possibly risking fines. Thats due to another provision: the law says workers with an offer of affordable workplace coverage arent entitled to new tax credits for private insurance, which could be a better deal for those on the lower rungs of the middle class.

Some supporters of the law are disappointed. It smacks of todays Catch-22 insurance rules.

Some people may not gain the benefit of affordable employer coverage, acknowledged Ron Pollack, president of Families USA, a liberal advocacy group leading efforts to get uninsured people signed up for coverage next year.

It is an imperfection in the new law, Pollack added. The new law is a big step in the right direction, but it is not perfect, and it will require future improvements.

Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, the 2-million-member service-sector labor union, called the provision an avoidance opportunity for big business. SEIU provided grass-roots support during Obamas long struggle to push the bill through Congress.

The law is complicated, but essentially companies with 50 or more full-time workers are required to offer coverage that meets certain basic standards and costs no more than 9.5 percent of an employees income. Failure to do so means fines for the employer. (Full-time work is defined as 30 or more hours a week, on average.)

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Health care law may still leave insurance unaffordable for low-wage workers