Happy Friday folks,
Hopefully everyone had a good pi day, and that bearded economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin had a wonderful “i Day.”
Though these wonderful holidays surround us, employers throughout America are realizing that the Affordable Care Act is nothing to celebrate. Janet Adamy recently reported in The Wall Street Journal that “employers are bracing for a little-noticed fee in the federal health-care law that will charge them $63 for each person they insure next year, one of the clearest cost increases companies face when the law takes full effect.” The extra fee on premiums will amount to roughly $25 billion over the next three years. Boeing for example, estimates that they will be taxed on 405,000 employees, which will cost $25 million in 2014.
According to Adamy,“few noticed the fee when the 2010 Affordable Care Act passed.” Because the healthcare bill was passed so quickly and is so massive, employers throughout the country feel as if they are in a healthcare cost trap.
It is even more evident that conservatives must craft policy to reduce healthcare costs. Employers recognizing the law’s immediate effects is an important first step.
Seize the day,
Mark Bednar
@MarkBednar
Important Things On Tap For Today
2:30 PM: President Obama delivers remarks on American energy in Chicago.
ALL DAY: Prepare for St. Patrick’s Day
Tweet Tweet
@politico “A year in prison, Rod Blagojevich in good spirits: http://politi.co/Ws1wtM”
@espn “Georgetown vs Syracuse. Louisville vs Notre Dame. The Big East Semifinal matchups are TANTALIZING. #ChampWeek”
@EconSciTech “How air-traffic control can use television signals to plot aircraft http://ow.ly/iYwXH”
@BloombergNews “JPMorgan’s efforts to hide trading losses ignite debate over whether bank is too big to manage | http://bloom.bg/15Pgm0l”
@marcorubio “I don’t understand #nfl anymore. If RB can’t lower head what do they do, take on tackler with chest? http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/14/nfl-may-prevent-runners-from-lowering-their-heads-into-tacklers/ … #c’monman”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
Oil Exports Spur More Questions About Pipeline from The Wall Street Journal by Keith Johnson. “Much of the crude oil that would flow down the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline would likely be exported as refined products by U.S. companies—a prospect that is stirring further debate over whether the project serves the nation’s best interest. Backers of the pipeline, which would carry heavy crude from Alberta, Canada, through the Plains states to Gulf Coast refineries, say the exports would be good for the U.S. economy by creating refinery jobs and helping to reduce the trade deficit.”
CEO’s: Growth Possible If Hill Helps from Politico by Lauren French. “American businesses need certainty from the government to expand, a panel of corporate CEOs said Thursday, but they predicted there is huge potential for growth if Democrats and Republicans in Congress can simplify the tax code and pass a budget.”
Congress Begins Meetings On Tax Reform from The Washington Post by Zachary A. Goldfarb and Lori Montgomery. “Members of the Senate Finance Committee from both parties met for the first time Thursday to start laying the groundwork for legislation to overhaul the tax code, as the House Ways and Means Committee engages in a similar bipartisan effort. … Republicans see the tax code as another example of big government, with dozens of tax breaks that favor certain industries and distort the economy. They want to eliminate most of those tax breaks and return all the money generated to taxpayers through lower rates. Nobody would pay higher tax rates, and Republicans believe that a simpler tax code would unleash economic growth.”
Education In The 21st Century from Politico by John Ebersole. “In both examples, I speak to the heart of the crisis in American competitiveness and that is the waste and abuse of our country’s most valuable asset. It may be cliché, but it’s true: The most important resource we have is our people. We are wasting our citizens’ lives by not supporting their struggles to advance their education and train for a secure job. We have the tools. They’ve been around for decades. Online learning, credit by examination, evaluation of on-the-job training and academic credit for military service — all of these tools exist and have a proven track record of turning people’s lives around. Is it the snobbery of higher education — and some government leaders — that is grinding the movement to a halt? … Instead of debating the strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face instruction over MOOCs (massive open online courses), or other forms of learning, we should embrace both.”
Japan Will Join Pacific Trade Talks Despite Opposition In U.S. Congress from The Washington Post by Howard Schneider. “Despite a backlash from U.S. lawmakers Thursday over Japan’s possible entry into trade negotiations with the United States, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday his nation would join the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in pursuit of a Pacific trade pact. … Japan is notorious for its low level of auto imports — less than 6 percent of total sales, compared with an average of about 40 percent in the developed world. The letter estimated that for every car the United States sells to Japan, Japan exports 120 to the United States.”
Immigration
Young Immigrants’ Applications Fall from The Wall Street Journal by Miriam Jordan. “The number of applicants for an Obama administration program that allows young illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. dropped to its lowest monthly level yet in January, a decline that experts attributed to the possibility of a comprehensive immigration overhaul, lack of awareness and the cost to apply. The Department of Homeland Security said that about 31,000 people applied for the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, in January, and fewer than 15,000 had applied by mid-February. That is down from more than 113,000 applicants last October alone, soon after the program started. The slowdown comes despite what DACA’s proponents hailed as potentially life-changing benefits for those who qualify. In addition to lifting the threat of deportation, it grants a work permit to the immigrants, most of whom were brought to the U.S. as children. Critics of DACA have claimed that the program was implemented to boost President Barack Obama’s support among Hispanics in the November election.”
Health Care
Squeeze Looms For Doctors from The Wall Street Journal by Melinda Beck. “U.S. medical schools are expanding to meet an expected need for more doctors due to the federal health law. With at least 12 new schools opening and existing ones growing, enrollment is on track to produce 5,000 more graduates a year by 2019. But medical educators are cautioning that those efforts won’t do anything to alleviate a doctor shortage unless the number of medical residency positions rises as well. The number of federally funded residencies has been frozen since 1997.”
Supreme Court To Hear Generic Drug Suit Next Week from Politico by Brett Norman. “Generic drugs are supposed to be identical to the brand names that preceded them. And by law, they have to have identical warnings and labels. So what happens when a generic drug harms someone? How much liability does the generic drugmaker bear? That’s a question that will be argued before the Supreme Court next Tuesday.”
X-Factor
Obama Sets Timeline on Iran Nuclear Bomb from The Wall Street Journal by Colleen McCain Nelson and Julian E. Barnes. “Barack Obama said it would take Iran a year or more to build a nuclear weapon, an assessment that sets up a potential area of discord with Israel’s leader days before the U.S. president visits the Middle East. Mr. Obama, who will travel to Israel and Palestinian territories next week in his first presidential visit, told Israel’s Channel 2 television that an Iranian atomic weapon was a “red line” that threatened Israel and the U.S.”
Grand Jury Investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), People Familiar With Probe Say from The Washington Post by Carol D. Leonnig and Peter Wallsten. “A federal grand jury in Miami is investigating Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), examining his role in advocating for the business interests of a wealthy donor and friend, according to three people aware of the probe. Menendez has intervened in matters affecting the financial interests of Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, seeking to apply pressure on the Dominican government to honor a contract with Melgen’s port-security company, documents and interviews show. Also, Menendez’s office has acknowledged he interceded with federal health-care officials after they said that Melgen had overbilled the U.S. government for care at his clinic.”
This & That
Friday Recipe: Sesame Zaatar Crackers from Cloture Club.
Pictures Of Obama With Different Mustache Options from Esquire by Jonathan Evans.
SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl’s Keynote Speech from Rolling Stone by Adam Gold.
15 Cats Who Can’t Wait For St. Patrick’s Day from Buzzfeed by Emma Chandler.
Peregrine Espresso Rules the Roast, Wins Best Coffehouse On East Coast Honors from DCist by Kevin H.