The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses to provide health benefits to their workers, but larger employers face penalties if they don’t make affordable coverage available. The Obama Administration announced “transition relief” under which the penalties will go into effect in 2015 for employers with 100 or more employees and in 2016 for employers […]
Imagine you’re a Medicare patient, and you go to your doctor for an ultrasound of your heart one month. Medicare pays your doctor’s office $189, and you pay about 20 percent of that bill as a co-payment. Then, the next month, your doctor’s practice has been bought by the local hospital. You go to the […]
The announcement that the rate of healthcare spending growth dropped to a historic low in 2013 is presented as a positive development for the long-term fiscal health of the country and welcome news for the Obama Administration. Many outlets are reporting that the Affordable Care Act contributed to the continued slowdown. For instance, USA Today […]
As Americans shop in the health insurance marketplace for a second year, President Obama is depending more than ever on the insurance companies that five years ago he accused of padding profits and canceling coverage for the sick. Those same insurers have long viewed government as an unreliable business partner that imposed taxes, fees and […]
Disputes between unions and employers over paying for new costs associated with the Affordable Care Act are roiling labor talks nationwide. Unions and employers are tussling over who will pick up the tab for new mandates, such as coverage for dependent children to age 26, as well as future costs, such as a tax on […]