I want Obamacare to work, something just had to be done about the state of healthcare in the United States, and considering all the (maybe impossible) compromises that were made in the beginning-- such as not letting the Health Care Act allow negotiating for drug prices the way the VA does-- set the stage for a lot of problems
4 February 2014
Last updated at 21:47 ET
The reductions will begin in 2017 after the law's provisions
take full effect, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in its
report.
Lower-income workers will be hardest hit, limiting their hours to avoid losing federal subsidies.
Conservatives and the White House promptly clashed over the findings.
In Tuesday's report the nonpartisan CBO said work hours would be reduced by the equivalent of 2.3 million full-time workers by 2021. The watchdog had previously estimated the healthcare law would result in 800,000 fewer workers.
'Making it worse'
'Obamacare' will reduce US workforce, report finds
Assessing the potential legacy of "Obamacare" in the least healthy US state
President
Barack Obama's health law will cut the US workforce by the equivalent
of more than two million workers, a congressional watchdog says.
Lower-income workers will be hardest hit, limiting their hours to avoid losing federal subsidies.
Conservatives and the White House promptly clashed over the findings.
In Tuesday's report the nonpartisan CBO said work hours would be reduced by the equivalent of 2.3 million full-time workers by 2021. The watchdog had previously estimated the healthcare law would result in 800,000 fewer workers.
'Making it worse'
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known
as Obamacare, will result in a slower rate of employment growth over
the next decade, according to the findings.
The report also found older US workers nearing retirement may opt to work shorter hours to retain healthcare subsidies until they qualify for Medicare, a federal health programme for the elderly.
Employees may also face lower wages due to tax levees and penalties against their employers, the report found.
'Squeezed' The CBO findings provided fodder for congressional Republicans who are likely to make the health law a major issue in November's midterm elections.
"The middle class is getting squeezed in this economy, and this CBO report confirms that Obamacare is making it worse," Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said in a statement on Tuesday.
But the White House said the impact on the workforce would be due to voluntary steps by workers rather than businesses cutting jobs.
The law will leave people "empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods", said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
He added that the law would also allow participants the freedom to retire early or become stay-at-home parents.
The glitches that plagued the healthcare website during its October rollout would probably result in one million fewer enrolled participants than initially anticipated, the CBO found.
Six million people are now forecast to sign up for coverage by this year.
The president's Democratic allies have been trying to distance themselves from the issue in the lead-up to November's elections, which will determine which political party controls Congress for the final two years of Mr Obama's presidency.
Republicans say the law, America's most sweeping social legislation in decades, is an unacceptable government intrusion into healthcare. They has voted to repeal the act more than 40 times.
Continue reading the main story
Obamacare setbacks
- July: Businesses with over 50 workers given until 2015 to provide insurance or pay a penalty
- 23 Oct: Deadline for individuals to avoid penalties is pushed back six weeks to March 2014
- 27 Nov: Year's delay in online insurance enrolment for small businesses
- 26 Nov: Spanish-language sign-up tool is postponed until December
- 22 Nov: Enrolment deadline for individuals is pushed back a week in December
- 14 Nov: Obama announces insurers can keep customers on existing plans for another year
The congressional analysts say
there will be fewer workers because healthcare subsidies would "reduce
incentives to work" and pose an "implicit tax on working" for those
returning to a job with health insurance.
The CBO said some US businesses might decide to reduce their
workforce to fewer than 50 full-time employees to avoid having to
provide health insurance as mandated under the law. The report also found older US workers nearing retirement may opt to work shorter hours to retain healthcare subsidies until they qualify for Medicare, a federal health programme for the elderly.
Employees may also face lower wages due to tax levees and penalties against their employers, the report found.
'Squeezed' The CBO findings provided fodder for congressional Republicans who are likely to make the health law a major issue in November's midterm elections.
"The middle class is getting squeezed in this economy, and this CBO report confirms that Obamacare is making it worse," Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said in a statement on Tuesday.
But the White House said the impact on the workforce would be due to voluntary steps by workers rather than businesses cutting jobs.
The law will leave people "empowered to make choices about their own lives and livelihoods", said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
He added that the law would also allow participants the freedom to retire early or become stay-at-home parents.
The glitches that plagued the healthcare website during its October rollout would probably result in one million fewer enrolled participants than initially anticipated, the CBO found.
Six million people are now forecast to sign up for coverage by this year.
The president's Democratic allies have been trying to distance themselves from the issue in the lead-up to November's elections, which will determine which political party controls Congress for the final two years of Mr Obama's presidency.
Republicans say the law, America's most sweeping social legislation in decades, is an unacceptable government intrusion into healthcare. They has voted to repeal the act more than 40 times.
Kentucky - cancer capital of the US - is deeply divided on "Obamacare"
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered