Obamacare Will Cost US Corporations Billions
The health care overhaul will cost U.S. companies billions and make them more likely to drop prescription drug coverage for retirees because of a change in how the government subsidizes those benefits.
In the first two days after the law was signed, three major companies — Deere & Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Valero Energy — said they expect to take a total hit of $265 million to account for smaller tax deductions in the future.
With more than 3,500 companies now getting the tax break as an incentive to keep providing coverage, others are almost certain to announce similar cost increases in the weeks ahead as they sort out the impact of the change.
AT&T, 3M, And AK Steel Report Devastating Effects Of Health Bill
AT&T will take a $1 billion non-cash charge in first quarter related to the health care bill
By BARBARA ORTUTAY
ABC News
AT&T Inc. Will Take A $1 Billion Non-Cash Charge In The First Quarter Because Of The Health Care Overhaul And May Cut Benefits It Offers To Current And Retired Workers.
The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel Corp., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses. On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.
All five are smaller than AT&T, and their combined charges are less than half of the $1 billion that AT&T is planning. The $1 billion is a third of AT&T’s most recent quarterly earnings. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company earned $3 billion on revenue of $30.9 billion.
AT&T said Friday that the charge reflects changes to how Medicare subsidies are taxed. Companies say the health care overhaul will require them to start paying taxes next year on a subsidy they receive for retiree drug coverage.
3M Anticipates New U.S. Healthcare Law to Result in One-Time Charge of $85 — $90 Million After Tax in First Quarter of 2010
Market Watch
3M Company Today That It Expects To Record A One-Time Non-Cash Charge Of $85 To $90 Million After Tax… Resulting From The Recently Enacted Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act.” “3M Company said today that it expects to record a one-time non-cash charge of $85 to $90 million after tax, or approximately 12 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2010, resulting from the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including modifications made in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 passed by Congress on March 25, 2010. The charge is due to a reduction in the value of the company’s deferred tax asset as a result of a change to the tax treatment of Medicare Part D reimbursements.
AK Steel Sees $31 Million Charge From New Health Law
Business Week
AK Steel Holding Corp., the third largest U.S. steelmaker by sales, said it will record a non-cash charge of about $31 million resulting from the health-care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama.
The charge, to be recorded in the first quarter of 2010, is due to a reduction in the value of the company’s deferred tax asset because of a change to the treatment of Medicare Part D reimbursements under the new law, West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel said in a statement today.
The almost $1 trillion overhaul signed today, called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was opposed by some U.S. businesses that said the measure would raise their costs.
Erin DiPietro, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, said information was not immediately available on how the new health law would affect the company financially.
Caterpillar Inc. announced that Obamacare will cost the company $100 million in one quarter.
Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, last week said taxes and “new-coverage mandates” would raise its health-care costs by 20 percent, or more than $100 million in the first year.
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Wild Thing’s comment…….
And so it continues. After just one week, ObamaCare will be taking over $1B out of the economy – just in anticipation of what is to come.
Obama, Karl Marx was NOT one of America’s Founding Fathers!
ObamaCare sets all of its incentives to oppose growth. Can you imagine the impact this will have on the economy? Then there are all the other businesses that it will effect that make an income from the bigger business where employees work. Trickle down effect to other places of business, like their suppliers, even shopping employees would do would effect stores, so many things.
Destroy the economy and political system of America and have socialism ready to go in their place? That’s the Democrats’ “transformation” of society that they have in mind. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be something like The Road Warrior… “primitive communism” like Marx imagined (and every liberal fatasizes about with communes) was more like Hobbes’ “state of nature” (life being nasty, brutish and short) than anything else. Hell, is communism is so good why do reds need gulags and secret police to achieve it?
Amen Anon, maybe that’s why Detroit is getting Sharia loan financing.
Anonymous, well put, really good description and thoughts about this. Thank you.
Jack, oh wow that’s right, thank you Jack for bringing that up.