The Obama Administration has announced a set of regulatory changes to the health care law that would give consumers until 2015 to enrol in coverage.
The rule changes were released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department on Mar. 6.
Obamacare, once seen by conservatives as a reason to end prosperity forever, has turned out to be helping American households as their income and spending rise, according to the Huffington Post.
President Obama’s signature 2010 health law is partly responsible for a third-quarter rise in January in US consumer spending and income growth, according to calculations by the Wall Street Journal.
The growth came despite the expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed and high heating costs associated with an extremely cold winter. The gains were significant, with at 0.4 per cent rise in consumer spending ($45.2 billion) and a 0.3 per cent rise in personal incomes (up $43.9 billion).
Rise in personal income
Experts believe the rise in personal income was due to the expanded Medicaid program that paid out $19 billion in benefits in January and $ 15 billion in the form of tax credits to the enrollees, according to BEA. http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm
These were the two major changes that have enabled many Americans to spend money on good and services which could have otherwise gone to healthcare premiums.
Speculation that the law would hamper the economy was based upon the previous year’s decline in income growth and spending. However, this was largely due the battle in Congress over the fear of ‘fiscal cliff’ that ended with payroll tax cuts not being extended.
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/2014/pdf/pi0114_hist.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/obamacare-january-bea_n_4892267.html?ir=Business
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Insurers can keep their customers on policies that don’t comply with #Obamacare for another two years. @Luhby http://cnnmon.ie/1e2C4Ra
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