Health Care Solutions Week:

Sally Pipes in Forbes today explains how, because of Obamacare, “workers are going to get squeezed from both sides“:

Evidence is mounting that Obamacare raises health costs for small firms and thereby reduces workers’ wages. Writ large across the entire economy, the law is not just discouraging firms from creating new jobs — it’s actually reducing the size of the labor force.

Two new economic studies unpack Obamacare’s impact on the labor market.

The first, from the American Action Forum, shows that the law is reducing the pay of workers at small businesses — those with 20 to 99 employees — by at least $22.6 billion every year. … The AAF study concludes that the law’s regulations and increased premiums are likely responsible for American employers having shed more than 350,000 jobs. …

[A]nother report, from the American Health Policy Institute, finds that Obamacare will also shrink the labor force by reducing incentives to work. … The AHPI report concludes that Obamacare imposes on businesses “additional costs of $4,800 to $5,900 per employee over the course of a decade.” In the next ten years, the total cost of the law to American employers will be between $157 billion to $186 billion. …

The AHPI study also points to a survey of 691 small employers conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans showing that “one in ten has reduced hiring in order to stay under the 50-employee ACA threshold for small employers.”

Federal Reserve data reveal a similar trend — that employers are hiring more part-time workers to avoid Obamacare’s penalties and save money.

The practically anti-poor “morality” scolds have nothing to say about these trends, except to support with “righteous” indignation the law responsible for all these perverse incentives and negative outcomes.

They are extremely careful to ignore the Obamacare-created spike in what are categorized as “involuntary part-time workers.” They ignore it even as they pretend to care for minimum-wage workers’ incomes — who are denied a full week’s hours and are losing at least 11 hours’ worth of paid labor per week because of Obamacare. The poor are just props to them. The priority is, as always, further empowerment of government.

Pipes points to yet another perverse incentive within the law: “driving people to avoid seeking work altogether.” She explains:

Obamacare grants many Americans subsidies to help pay for health coverage. These subsidies are pegged to their income levels — the less they make, the more they get from the government.

That creates a substantial disincentive for people to work more — or at all. Picking up more hours or shifts can lead to the loss of hundreds or even thousands of dollars’ worth of health insurance subsidies.

Don’t expect to see these findings reported in the local newspaper, which is still sitting faithfully in the data patch hoping to be rewarded for its sincerity of belief in the Great Obamacare: