Although healthcare reform is largely out of his hands, it may still define President Obama’s second term in office. The final pieces of the law are set to go into effect in 2014. That’s when the health coverage will expand to as many as 30 million uninsured Americans. And while the implementation of the law is now in the hands of insurance leaders, employers and state politicians, its success or failure may still lie in the hands of President Obama. And its impact is certainly being felt across the nation.
The Wall Street Journal reports the federal health-care overhaul is prompting some colleges and universities to cut the hours of adjunct professors, renewing a debate about the pay and benefits of these freelance instructors who handle a significant share of teaching at U.S. higher-education institutions. The Affordable Care Act requires large employers to offer a minimum level of health insurance to employees who work 30 hours a week or more starting in 2014, or face a penalty. The mandate is a particular challenge for colleges and universities, which increasingly rely on adjuncts to help keep costs down as states have scaled back funding for higher education.
Meanwhile, The Hill reports the Obama administration is re-branding the central component of its signature healthcare law. The Health and Human Services Department suddenly stopped referring to insurance “exchanges” this week, even as it heralded ongoing efforts to prod states into setting up their own. Instead, press materials and a website for the public referred to insurance “marketplaces” in each state. The change comes amid a determined push by conservative activists to block state-based exchanges in hopes of crippling the federal implementation effort.