Mid-Sized Businesses Seek Relief From Health Law Provision They Say Will Increase Costs

The Wall Street Journal: Midsize Businesses Seek Relief From Federal Health Law
Employer groups and insurers are pushing to keep businesses with 51 to 100 workers exempt from a provision of the federal health law that they say could significantly increase their costs. For these midsize employers, the Affordable Care Act’s requirements for what health plans must cover—and how they are priced—are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2016. (Radnofsky and Janofsky, 5/27)

The Wall Street Journal: West Coast Port Contract Has Employers Covering ‘Cadillac Tax’
The U.S. West Coast port labor contract ratified by dockworkers will require shipping companies and terminal operators to cover the tax on high-cost health plans beginning in 2018 under the Affordable Care Act, widely called the “Cadillac tax.” Health care benefits were an important part of the negotiations that culminated in an agreement in February and last week’s vote by the cargo handlers in favor a five-year contract that included wage increases, pension upgrades and substantial health care coverage. (Phillps, 5/27)

The Wall Street Journal CFO Report: How One Supermarket Chain Is Tackling Health-Care Costs
The “Cadillac Tax” isn’t the only reason executives are looking to shed health-care costs; low-margin businesses don’t have much choice but to arrest the increases and trim fat wherever they can. As CFO Journal reported Tuesday, finance executives are turning their attention to the controversial provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which is scheduled to take effect in 2018 and penalizes companies whose benefits are deemed overly generous. But even modest grocers whose benefits won’t trigger a levy can’t afford to ignore the burgeoning costs of coverage. (Murphy, 5/27)