Article Response #7 - "Walmart's insurance move reveals Obamacare's truth"

         Following the trend I started last week, I am going to explore another domestic issue of American politics that has already affected some Americans already, and has the potential to affect many more. This issue stems from the passage of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, and one of the unforeseen consequences that is occurring from it. 
        Although it should be mentioned that the Affordable Care Act was initially passed back in 2010, its implementation has been a sluggish process. Mostly, the reasons for states not encouraging their citizens to obtain the insurance have been partisan and part of the right wing agenda. But other reasons have included some issues in transparency for how to sign up and who qualifies. However, in the past year, the Obama Administration in accordance with cooperating state governments have tried to do a better job of advertising to their target audience. 
        This increased participation from the latest push of ad campaigns is actually starting to create a blowback effect within the corporate community. This blowback is the world's largest private employer, Walmart, cutting its health benefits for employees working thirty hours or fewer. While Walmart's expressed reason for these cuts are "rising health care costs," experts feel it has more to do with the terms for corporations in the Affordable Care Act. 
        These terms state that "large companies are required, starting this January, to provide subsidised healthcare for every employee who works 30-hours a week or more." Because of these strict requirements for workers over thirty hours, Walmart as well as Home Depot, Target, and Walgreens are doing away with benefits altogether for part-time employees. 
       While these changes from wide-spread, employer-provided insurance to the Obamacare health insurance can not be decidedly said as positive or negative just yet, it is a change that seems to be inevitable.