Trending News Today: Low Income Parents Shy Away from Employer-Sponsored Health Plans

A new study found that a large amount of lower income parents chose to enroll their children in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, rather than signing up for family health coverage through their employer. Enrolling in these programs is typically cheaper compared with employer-sponsored plans. The reliance on these programs is a factor that lawmakers should consider when looking at financing the programs, Kaiser Health News reported.

After the implementation of the Affordable Care Act caused 2 large tax increases for the wealthy, repealing the health law could potentially offer wealthy Americans a large tax break, according to Politico. The repeal would likely eliminate taxes placed on individuals with incomes over $250,000, which would translate to $154,000 in annual savings for those in the top 0.1% of incomes. The repeal would benefit the very wealthy, while leaving millions without health insurance, according to the report.

The US Department of Justice has voiced questions about whether Aetna and Humana have a feasible plan to sell their assets in order to remove antitrust concerns about their merger. Specifically, the government questioned the ability of Molina Healthcare, a proposed asset buyer, to keep the Medicare Advantage market competitive if the merger is approved, The Wall Street Journal reported. Molina previously agreed to buy assets that would make them responsible for providing coverage for more than 290,000 enrollees.