Health law touching people who have insurance through their workplace

News outlets examine how the law affects young people and other consumers, taxpayers as well as workplaces.

The Associated Press: Health Law Affects Those With Insurance Through Work, Too
The health care overhaul's reach stretches far beyond the millions of uninsured Americans it is expected to help. It also could touch everything from the drug choices to doctor bills of people who have insurance through work. The law isn't expected to prompt sudden, radical changes for workers. So you probably won't lose your job due to the overhaul, despite claims by the law's opponents. But benefits experts say there are several other ways the law can leave fingerprints on the benefits of the roughly 149 million people who are covered through their jobs (Johnson and Murphy, 1/21).

Kaiser Health News: 8 Things To Know About Obamacare In 2014
3. Some existing plans, if they haven't changed significantly since the law passed, do not have to comply with everything the ACA mandates. These "grandfathered plans," for example, can still charge co-pays for preventive services, which the health law otherwise requires to be free. If you have one of these plans and your employer makes changes that raise your out-of-pocket costs, the plan would then lose its grandfathered status and all the ACA's protections would kick (Rao, 1/22). 

The Associated Press: Taxpayer Advocate: Avoid Health-Care Tax Surprises
It's not too early to start thinking about the tax implications of health care reform. Did you buy health insurance through one of the exchanges? You might be eligible for a refundable tax credit. Taxpayers had the option of estimating their 2014 income to see if they qualified for the credit and then having it applied in advance to the cost of the premiums (Feldman, 1/21).

Politico Pro: Analysis Questions Value Of Coverage For Young Adults
Young people may be better off financially if they skip health insurance this year, according to new research from the American Action Forum. ... AAF found that adults ages 18-35 would be better off financially in 2014 if they pay Obamacare's relatively weak penalty and remain uninsured -; as long as they remain healthy. ... When AAF took into account the benefits of protecting families from fear of medical bankruptcy, it determined that the benefits outweigh the costs for more than half of young adults by 2015 and for nearly two-thirds by 2016. ... AAF has been a consistent critic of the health law (Cheney, 1/22).