Aetna Inc (AET), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH): Obamacare Gives Businesses a Break but Leaves You on the Hook

Will Congress object?
Interestingly, as the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein noted last night, the administration’s decision not to enforce Obamacare’s penalty provisions doesn’t change the fact that they remain on the books as law. The situation puts Congress in the strange position of having the president challenge its law-making ability on a law that the president supported and that a substantial portion of Congress would prefer to see repealed.

The biggest fallout, though, might well come from individuals who supported the law but who counted on equal treatment of businesses and employees. Without a similar one-year break from individual penalties, you’ll find plenty of penalty-payers next year arguing about the unfairness of giving employers a break from fines.

The real test for Obamacare
In any event, the biggest challenge that Obamacare faces is getting its Health Insurance Marketplace up and running by Oct. 1. Although private exchanges from Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) subsidiary Mercer as well as Towers Watson & Co (NYSE:TW) have done a good job of getting Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET), UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), and other popular insurers to participate in their programs, the reception that public exchanges have gotten has been far less favorable. Without a smooth launch in less than three months, Obamacare could find itself facing much greater criticism than it is today.

The article Obamacare Gives Businesses a Break but Leaves You on the Hook originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and WellPoint. The Motley Fool owns shares of WellPoint.

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