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Monday, August 19, 2013

Two Sides to Obamacare; Only One True

Forever 21 just told its non-management employees that they would all be cut to 29 hours of work per week.  The clothing chain's move will take a big chunk out of the earnings of these employees and will probably result in some bad publicity for the company.  It does not matter.  Forever 21 does not want to undertake the cost of providing healthcare for all of these folks.  It would just add huge additional costs to its earnings statements.  The only way to cover these cost would be to raise prices.  Since Forever 21 has a market niche of low price clothing for young women, it cannot afford to raise prices without losing its identity.  Of course, all of this is a direct result of Obamacare and the requirement that health insurance must be provided to any employee who regularly works 30 hours per week or more.  With Forever 21, the large number of employees not only do not get health insurance thanks to the law, but they also lose a big part of their wages.

Meanwhile, the left leaning media is still putting out phony articles celebrating Obamacare.  The latest one I saw was on Yahoo News and it purports to tell people five things they need to know about Obamacare premiums.  According to the article, only a few people will see higher premiums.  This is blatantly false.  The article then talks about how people who buy on the exchanges will be eligible for subsidies.  Again, that is false.  Let's look closer.  First, essentially every health care policy in America will cost more next year.  Companies can no longer reject pre-existing conditions, smokers, and others whose health makes it likely they will incur high healthcare costs.  Everyone with a policy will have to pay those additional costs, and that lead to higher premiums for everyone.  Even those who buy on the exchanges will pay those higher costs.  While it is true that some folks will be eligible for subsidies, the majority will not (something that even the Yahoo article eventually acknowledges in the later part of the discussion.)  So everyone pays more but a few get help from the government.  It is a great many more than a "few" people who will see higher premiums.  The article is clearly misleading.




 

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