Target Dropping Health Ins for P/T Workers

[link=(www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-21/target-to-drop-health-insurance-for-part-time-workers.html)]SIAP[/link]

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Target Corp. (TGT) will end health insurance for part-time employees in April, joining Trader Joe’s Co., Home Depot Inc. and other U.S. retailers that have scaled back benefits in response to changes from Obamacare.

About 10 percent of part-time employees, defined as those working fewer than 30 hours a week, use Target’s health plans now, according to a posting yesterday on the Minneapolis-based company’s website. Target is the second-largest U.S. discount retailer by sales and had about 361,000 total employees last fiscal year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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While the amount of part-timers on Target's health insurance isn't a lot (percentage-wise), it should set people to thinking how this is going to effect those workers and the economy in general.

For argument's sake let's say that the majority of the part-time workers are the "younger workers" the ACA needs signing up in order to balance the books. How many of these workers will get subsidies? How much of a subsidy will there be? Will it be enough to offset the money they saved by not purchasing health insurance through their employer? Will this extra cost (if it exists) be enough to make being on government subsidy (welfare, food stamps, etc) more economical for them?

Conversely, if they are subsidized enough so they don't see a fiscal impact then is the ACA really making enough money off of them to remain solvent?

The thing to be on the lookout for is when the biggest fishes in the pond of part-time employees (like WalMart and McDonald's) make their decision (they have just under a year since the employer mandate kicks in next year).