Insurance Exchanges

FEATURED RESEARCH, TESTIMONIES AND ANALYSIS:

Labor Markets and Health Care Reform: New Results

The PPACA will have profound implications for U.S. labor markets.  The PPACA is fiscally dangerous, raising the risk of higher labor (and other) taxes at a time when the job market is struggling.  It provides strong incentives for employers – with the agreement of their employees – to drop employer-sponsored health insurance for as many as 35 million Americans, perhaps leading to widespread turmoil in labor compensation and employee insurance coverage – and raising the gross taxpayer cost of the subsidies to roughly $1.4 trillion in the first 10 years.

Washington Post: Coming Soon – A Bigger, Costlier Obamacare

One of us is an economist who has laid out the math showing why roughly 35 million American workers will almost certainly be transferred from employer-provided care to the Obamacare exchanges. For these workers, it will be possible for both the employer and the employee to be financially better off if they are “dumped” into the exchanges. Only the taxpayer loses. As even some in the Obama administration have noted, many employers — and millions of employees — will find the idea of taxpayer-subsidized care very attractive.

ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, TESTIMONIES AND ANALYSIS:

Primer: Insurance Exchanges Primer

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that all Americans will have access to online marketplaces where they can compare and purchase health insurance plans by 2014. These marketplaces, called State Health Insurance Exchanges, will be the platform for regulating and administering new federal subsidies to help low income families afford health insurance. Exchanges are the central plank of the ACA’s aggressive insurance coverage expansion plan.

Testimony Small Business and PPACA

American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin emphasized 4 key points in his testimony on Small Business and PPACA.  First, the PPACA raises the overall cost of operating a small business and undermines job growth in the United States.  Second, the PPACA’s new taxes will dramatically increase the cost of insurance premiums and force small insurers out of business; removing insurance options for small business owners and create disincentives for future job growth.  Third, the small business tax credits and the grandfathering health insurance provisions included in the PPACA offer false promises to small business owners and create disincentives for future job growth.  Fourth, the PPACA will lead to a dramatic decline in employer sponsored insurance; meaning as many as 35 million Americans will not be able to keep their insurance if they like it and the federal government will need to substantially increase spending projections for the state exchange subsidies.

True Cost of PPACA: Effects on the Budget and Jobs

American Action Forum President Doug Holtz-Eakin expressed five major points in his testimony.  First, at a time when sound policy requires low taxes and reductions in present and future transfer spending, the ACA moves dramatically in the wrong direction.  Second, the mandates and tax provisions in the ACA will have detrimental impacts on employment growth, wages, and economic growth.  Third, the impact of the ACA will be more expensive health insurance putting employers in the position of either reduced wage rates, fewer employees, or dropping insurance coverage.  Fourth, the ACA has strong incentives to drop health insurance coverage, and to the extent that employers pursue these incentives, taxpayers face tremendous upside risk to the cost of the ACA.  Fifth, even without unexpectedly large numbers of employers dropping coverage, the ACA will exacerbate an already-dangerous fiscal outlook.

Testimony - The PPACA: Labor Market Incentives, Economic Growth and Budgetary Impacts

In this testimony, Doug Holtz-Eakin makes four major points.  First, the mandates and tax provisions in the PPACA will have detrimental impacts on employment growth, wages, and economic growth.  Second, the impact of PPACA will be more expensive health insurance, putting employers in the position of reduced wage rates, fewer employees, or dropping insurance coverage.  Third, the PPACA has strong incentives to drop health insurance coverage, and to the extent that employers pursue these incentives, taxpayers face tremendous upside risk to the cost of the PPACA.  Fourth, even without unexpectedly large numbers of employers dropping coverage, the PPACA will exacerbate an already-dangerous fiscal outlook.

Politico: ObamaCare Strikes Out With Workers

ObamaCare, formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is bad news for U.S. workers. ObamaCare creates strong incentives for employers — even while holding workers financial harmless — to drop employer-sponsored health insurance for as many as 35 million Americans. This is sure to lead to widespread turmoil in labor compensation, employee insurance coverage and labor relations. ObamaCare slaps big increases in effective marginal tax rates on low-income workers. Every worker forced onto the subsidized exchanges is sure to face higher barriers to upward mobility and the pursuit of the American Dream.