Local Governments Dumps Spouses onto Obamacare

Businesses aren’t the only employers finding ways to cut health care cost by dumping their employees spouses onto Obamacare, local governments are too.  The Charlotte Observer reported the following: 

But local governments aren’t simply following the lead of private businesses, said Dr. Adam Zolotor, president and CEO of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, an independent, quasi-state agency.

Rather, they have been cash-strapped for several years and need to find ways to reduce costs, Zolotor said. He is not surprised that spouses are being used to contain costs because they now can seek coverage in the health care marketplace through the Affordable Care Act.

That trend is likely to grow in the coming years for the public and private sector alike, said Gary Claxton, vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that provides information on health issues. Nine percent of firms it surveyed last year that offer benefits to dependents do not allow spouses coverage if they are eligible to receive it from another source.

The Observer went on to report that the city of Lincolnton was able to save over $800,000 a year by dumping all spouses from their health insurance plans onto Obamacare.  This would allow employees to save $800 a month in premiums, while at the same time getting taxpayer funded subsidies through the ACA.

But that’s okay, because the federal government has a printing press spitting out dollar bills 24/7.  What could possibly go wrong?

Source:

 http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article23411439.html#storylink=cpy