Republicans are labeling President Barack Obama's healthcare plan as bad for the economy because the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday 2 million workers would be unemployed by 2017, Reuters reported.
According to the report, Obamacare will lead to workers watching their work hours in order to keep from losing federal subsidies provided by Obamacare to help pay for health insurance costs, according to Reuters.
According to the White House, the reduced work hours is a mere "reflection of new choices for workers," Reuters reported. The need to keep subsidies may also lead the elderly workers in the field, but just with shorter hours, Reuters reported.
The new assistance from the government may also "reduce incentives to work" because of the health care subsidies and may pose "implicit tax on working" for employers returning to jobs offering health insurance, according to Reuters.
By 2017, due to Obamacare which now includes an expansion of the Medicaid program, half of the people considered "poor" in the United States will be covered, Reuters reported. Declines in work hours are expected to take place before 2017.
Even further, the report stated by 2024 work hours would lessen by the equivalent of 2.5 million jobs, Reuters reported. Previous estimates predicted 800,000 fewer jobs by 2021.
