Free Republic

This week, another major U.S. retailer—Target—announced that it will be cutting health coverage for its part-time workers in response to changes stemming from the president’s health care law. The Minneapolis-based company now joins the likes of Home Depot and Trader Joes, among others, that have decided to dump part-time employee coverage to save on health care costs.

I'm in real trouble. I've been living on the edge for months. I'm just barely able to pay my bills. I don't spend anything on myself. Last week, my boss cut my hours. I'm really stressed out. What can I do when I've already cut my budget to the core? Brooke If you've been following the news lately, you've seen the headlines. You're not alone. Because of the economy or concern about the costs of covering full-time employees under the new healthcare law, a number of companies are reducing the hours of their employees. That can be a serious problem,...

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In a quest to save money, political leaders in Washington state are exploring a plan that would shift some government workers out of their current health plans and onto the insurance exchange developed under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Lawmakers believe the change, which could affect thousands of part-time state employees and education workers, would save the state $120 million over the next two years. It would consequently push more health care costs onto the federal government because many of the low-income workers would likely qualify for federal subsidies. Washington state appears to be the first...

Whatever your opinion of Obamacare, there’s no denying that its full implementation next year presents a major challenge for many businesses across the country. Starting in 2014, firms of more than 50 employees will be required to offer health insurance to their full-time employees — defined as those that work more than 30 hours per week — or pay a penalty. These expenses, along with added costs of complying with the law, will force many businesses to raise prices or reduce profit margins, two things business leaders never enjoy doing. While these mandates will increase costs for many businesses across...

I don't understand what the new health care law will do to service industry businesses, especially fast-food companies (McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc.). Seems that it would require every employee, even part-time staff, to be covered with a health insurance policy. If a policy costs $5,000 per employee per year, and a part timer works 30 hours per week, that would increase the cost per employee by almost $3.50/hr. That's a 50% increase in salary costs. I can see that having a huge impact on who gets hired for these businesses. You would see teens and new immigrants, who dominate...