ObamaCare's California 'Home Run' Still A Strikeout For Young, Healthy

Under ObamaCare, modest-wage earners face a choice: Pay premiums they probably can't afford or pay a bit less for policies with deductibles so high it makes them queasy.

The good news is that the initial ObamaCare premiums for the California market, heralded by state officials last week as "a home run for consumers," do appear to be somewhat lower than outside actuaries had warned.

The bad news is that the design of ObamaCare's subsidies still threatens to keep the young and healthy uninsured, driving up premiums for everybody else.

Consider the options for a 20-something single individual who earns 250% of the poverty level, or about $29,000.

Under the cheapest silver-level plan, that individual would have to pay $181 per month (after a subsidy of $34) on after-tax monthly income of about $2,050.

Though the silver plan is meant to be affordable, it's hard to see how such an individual could spare such a sum after rent, food and gas, medical bills and other necessities. Yes, medical bills. That's because the standard silver plan in California comes with a $2,000 deductible.

The law's crafters were smart enough to realize that not everyone will find a silver plan affordable, so they created the bronze option. For a bit less, $137 a month (after subsidies), a 21-year-old can get bronze coverage. Yet while the price is more realistic, the deductible of $5,000 may be so high that young people wonder whether the price is worth the sacrifice.

More good news: Those under 30 will have yet one more option, buying catastrophic coverage. These policies come with an even higher deductible of $6,400, but they are less expensive.

But here's the final piece of bad news: Because such policies come with no federal subsidies, workers earning 250% of the poverty level would pay the exact same $137 a month out of pocket for the cheapest catastrophic coverage as they would for the cheapest bronze-level plan.

That, in a nutshell, is the biggest problem with ObamaCare's subsidy structure. There are no subsidies for young people to buy the coverage that they really need and can possibly afford.

As a result, many may opt out and be stuck paying a tax penalty.

Andrew Malcom is on vacation.

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How These Companies Are Keeping Employees Healthy

The Canadian phone company has approximately 26,000 employees in 13 locations across the country and offers internal fitness facilities with cardio equipment, weight rooms and group fitness classes, on-site massage and reflexology practitioners, active living challenges and mental health support.

Janet Crowe, director of wellness and work-life solutions, says encouraging employees to adopt healthy lifestyle habits is part of the culture of TELUS. "It's the overall strategy of TELUS to have a healthy work environment," she says.

Don't worry if these kinds of programs seem out of reach for your business. You don't have to build a gymnasium to encourage a healthy workforce. Crowe says wellness initiatives are possible no matter how big or small a company is and says having a healthy workforce begins with making health a priority in the workplace.

She encourages small businesses to begin by asking employees what initiatives would help them. "Don't assume what your team wants, ask them what they need to reach their goals," she says. Sraeel says reaching out to local gyms to negotiate a discount rate or hosting group lunch hour walks is something every company can do no matter the size.

Celebrating business goals with a healthy cooking class or another activity staff has identified as something they'd like to try is another way to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into the office environment, plus "group activities can be empowering and team-building," says Sraeel.

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First Lady Michelle Obama and Big Bird Team Up to Help Get Kids Healthy

The White House

Office of the First Lady

New Let’s Move! Public Service Announcements Filmed in the White House
Encourage Kids to Eat Healthy and Get Active

Washington, D.C. – First Lady Michelle Obama and Sesame Street’s Big Bird teamed up to film two public service announcements encouraging kids to eat healthy and get active. The new PSAs, which can be viewed HERE and HERE, are launched as part of the third anniversary celebration of Let’s Move! – Mrs. Obama’s initiative to ensure that all our children grow up healthy and reach their full potential.

The new PSAs feature Mrs. Obama and Big Bird in the White House showing kids how easy and delicious it is to eat healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables and demonstrating fun ways to get active like dancing and jumping. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, will distribute these PSAs to 320 PBS Stations, Sesame Workshop’s partner channels as part of their Healthy Habits for Life Initiative. The PSAs are also posted on the Sesame Street and Let’s Move! websites.

These PSAs are part of the celebration of Let’s Move!’s third anniversary. Next week, the First Lady will kick off a two day nation-wide tour celebrating the anniversary by showcasing progress and announcing new ways the country is coming together around the health of our children.

Mrs. Obama launched Let’s Move! on February 9, 2010 to unite the country around our kids’ health and create real support for families to live healthier lives. Since then parents, business leaders, educators, elected officials, military leaders, chefs, physicians, athletes, childcare providers, community and faith leaders, and kids themselves have stepped up to improve the health of our nation’s children.

Thanks to these efforts, families now have access to more information to make healthier decisions for their children. Young people now have more opportunities for physical activity in their communities. Food in schools has been dramatically improved.  More Americans now have access to healthy, affordable food closer to home. And the national childhood obesity rate has leveled off, and even declined in some cities and states.

More information on three years of healthy changes can be found here: http://www.letsmove.gov/blog/2013/02/08/lets-move-three-years-working-towards-healthier-generation-children

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark Sesame Street.  The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 150 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company.  Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning.  Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

President Obama has already reduced the deficit by over $2.5 trillion, cutting spending by over $1.4 trillion, bringing domestic discretionary spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy since the Eisenhower era.

February 21, 2013 12:53 PM EST

Enter today for a chance to join President Obama and the First Family on the South Lawn for a day of singing, dancing and egg rolling.

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Ryan: Is the Health Care Sector 'Healthy?'

Barbara Ryan's View on Health Care Barbara Ryan, founder, Barbara Ryan Advisors, tells CNBC where investors should focus in the health care sector, from the JPMorgan Health Care Conference in San Francisco.

On the services front, investors will listen intently for the potential impacts of the implementation of Obamacare in 2014, with managed care companies, like Aetna Inc. getting a boost in membership, but also facing continued pressure on premiums, and margins.

Hospital companies like HCA will certainly benefit from the coverage of the currently uninsured, which will be a welcome prescription for bad debt relief, but here too, government reimbursement will likely continue to head lower.

Investors will also be watching for whether utilization trends in the U.S. begin to improve with the economy, which could provide a much needed boost to the beleaguered device industry, and stocks such as Covidien, Stryker Corp, Baxter International, and Zimmer.

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