ObamaCare - The War On Marriage Continues

The IRS has finally issued rules for the affordable implementation of ObamaCare. Sparking controversy is this:

WASHINGTON — In a long-awaited interpretation of the new health care law, the Obama administration said Monday that employers must offer health insurance to employees and their children, but will not be subject to any penalties if family coverage is unaffordable to workers.

...

The new rules, to be published in the Federal Register, create a strong incentive for employers to put money into insurance for their employees rather than dependents. It is unclear whether the spouse and children of an employee will be able to obtain federal subsidies to help them buy coverage — separate from the employee — through insurance exchanges being established in every state. The administration explicitly reserved judgment on that question, which could affect millions of people in families with low and moderate incomes.

Many employers provide family coverage to full-time employees, but many do not. Family coverage is much more expensive, and the employee’s share of the premium is typically much larger.

This was kicked around last summer (and details of the new rules are here and here.)

The gist is that employers are not obliged to weigh a worker's family status in deciding his total compensation, which makes sense - because the family insurance can cost an extra $10,000 per year, an employer would have a strong incentive to avoid family guys and gals when hiring for lower paying jobs.

Unfortunately, this means that a stay-at-home spouse becomes a tremendous financial burden due to lost federal subsidies; the employed partner's income can make the couple ineligible for Medicaid but the federal subsidy for health insurance may not be available either. Better never to marry - its the worst that could happen from a financial planning perspective, despite plenty of social science suggesting it has other benefits.

Well, we see through this game - Team Obama will eventually announce an interpretation of the rules such that families are eligible for the federal subsidies even if the employed partner is being offered affordable individual insurance. Delaying the announcement of that "unexpected" expense as long as possible is just part of the current budget imbroglio.

Remember - we had to pass the bill to see what was in it.

NO TIME LIKE THE FUTURE FOR BAD NEWS:

From Via Meadia:

So: will the new law bust government budgets, crush business under unaffordable costs or make health insurance prohibitively expensive for millions of working families? The wording of the law seems unclear on this point, and the Obama administration doesn’t want to give an answer. The new regulations seem to suggest that the administration realizes that business can’t pay these costs; at a time of fiscal cliff negotiations and massive public anxiety about deficits it doesn’t want to point to the potential new costs its cherished health care law could impose on the government. It is therefore waiting until a more opportune moment to take on the question of how the American health insurance system is going to work.

We still don’t know what kind of a health care system Congress created back in 2010. We still don’t know whether it will work or how much it will cost — and who will pay how much of the bill. The Affordable Care Act is not a solution to America’s health care problems.

ObamaCare - one more headwind for the US economy, which already has to contend with the frequent Washington cliff dives.

Comments

[Extraneus]

Democrats love their liars. When they find someone who can lie and get away with it, it turns them on. Clinton had them on their knees. If Hillary gets away with this, she'll have their nomination sewed up. They love this stuff!

Why? Because they know their leaders have to lie about their motives, and that only good liars can advance their lefty goals. They instinctively know this, and they reward their successful liars. They love them.

[sbw]

Nothing like being on the mend. Best wishes, Sue!

[Manuel Transmission]

Damn, daddy, we wuz on the mainland this afternoon. Cudda bought ya a beer somewhere.

BTW, any chance of you being in Oahu in the next 8 wks or so? We haven't started negociating with (A)B yet on exactly when, but another JOM group meet would be great.

[Jane - Mock the Media!]

LOL CC - I think what happened is I replied to all, and Daddy never got your original email. Then again, we all do look alike.

[gmax]

Rob Crawford

Suddenly top heavy? Like you think the plastic surgeon was working right by the railing? LOL

[cathyf]

So what's the probability of dying in a school shooting as compared to the probability of dying when your car hits a deer? Because if you grab all the guns in Illinois the deer population WILL explode. Not to mention all of those cute bambis that will starve to death when they totally overrun any food supply.