5 things to know about health law and job benefits (lets fact check the AP)

Fact check item # 2. COSTS RISING Here is what I find: http://www.healthaffairs.org/healthpolicybriefs/brief.php?brief_id=99 A 40 percent excise tax will be assessed, beginning in 2018, on the cost of coverage for health plans that exceed a certain annual limit ($10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for self and spouse or family coverage)

My opinion is most working families are well below the $ an employer is allowed to spend before the tax is applied quoted above.


http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140121/DABF9I901.html

The article: Jan 21, 10:58 AM (ET)

By CARLA K. JOHNSON and TOM MURPHY
Five things to know about how the health care overhaul affects people who get their insurance coverage through work.
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1. HOURS MATTER
The law requires companies with 50 or more workers to offer their full-time staff - defined as 30 hours a week or more - health insurance. That could cause some employers to cut hours for some workers.
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2. COSTS RISING
A tax on high-cost health plans begins in 2018, but many companies already are starting to trim benefits to ahead of the tax. That means higher out-of-pocket costs for workers. Combined with other taxes, fees and requirements, the health law could raise the total cost of an employer-sponsored plan from 1 to 5 percent.
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3. PREVENTIVE CARE MADE EASIER
Most health plans are required to cover several forms of preventive care without charging patients an upfront cost like a co-payment. That includes cholesterol tests, colonoscopies, vaccines and birth control.

FULL article at link.