Obamacare's employer mandate hits low-wage workers the hardest, study says

President Obama's health care law imposes penalties on larger employers who do not provide government-approved health coverage, but a new study from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation argues that low-wage workers will be hit hardest by the provision.

"Employers with 50 or more workers not offering coverage pre-[Affordable Care Act] are the same employers that are highly likely to not offer in the future, therefore incurring the ACA's penalties," the study reads. "Because the nonoffering firms are much more likely to be firms dominated by low-wage workers ... low-wage employees will bear the greatest brunt of the penalties imposed. Therefore, using employer penalties as a tool for financing reform tends to be a regressive approach."

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