The irony of this discussion is that some of the biggest beneficiaries from the ACA are the same low-wage, uninsured workers whose interests Republicans purport to defend when they complain about the law’s effects on work hours.
Under Obamacare, these workers get real benefits. Some will start getting health insurance through work because the employer mandate provision induces their employers to start offering coverage. Others work for firms that will pay the penalty instead of offering coverage — those workers will get new access to heavily subsidized insurance through Obamacare’s exchanges (at least, once HealthCare.gov starts working properly.)
Those subsidies will often be quite large. A single parent with two dependent children working full time at $15 per hour with no health insurance will be able to get a silver-level exchange plan for just $1,250 per year under Obamacare. Even uninsured employees whose hours are modestly cut (say from 32 hours a week to 28) may come out ahead because of Obamacare’s insurance subsidies.
–Josh Barro, Business Insider
