Obamacare claims yet another victim, this time in the form of home improvement giant Home Depot.
The chain announced earlier this week it would no longer provide part-time employees with coverage, instead shifting them to the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces. The government-subsidized healthcare exchanges open Oct. 1 and allow individuals to choose a plan that suits their needs best.
“We’re going to shift them over to the public exchanges, where there are more options,” company spokesman Stephen Holmes told The Chicago Tribune.
Home Depot previously offered its approximately 20,000 part-time workers limited liability medical coverage, but the health insurance will not be available after Dec. 31 under Obamacare, Holmes said.
According to The Chicago Tribune, limited liability medical coverage provided less than $5,000 in coverage. But some healthcare experts claim the exchanges offer not only more comprehensive coverage, but tax credits and subsidies that lower the cost of premiums, too.
Others, however, argue Obamacare actually raises the cost of premiums, with the tax credits posing a problem for insurance companies.
Home Depot employs roughly 340,000 people, and full-time workers will keep their health insurance. Full-time employees, though, will see their premiums rise in 2014 because of an increase in healthcare costs.
The Affordable Care Act has led to some unpredicted consequences for companies across a variety of sectors. Many businesses like grocery giant Wegmans have been forced to cut employees’ hours to less than 30 per week to offset the rising cost of employer-provided healthcare. Others, like drug store chain Walgreen Co., have decided to enter their employees into a private health insurance exchange run by Aon Hewitt.
