Last-minute budget deal softens health insurance cost increases

Federal Times: It appears that one of House Speaker John Boehner’s final acts will avoid a December government shutdown, and also save 16 million Medicare beneficiaries from skyrocketing healthcare premiums.

For those not keeping track, that’s the number of people who faced the prospect of 50 percent rate hikes, thanks to the ripple effect of the tagnant pricing of consumer goods. That particular scenario appears to have been squelched with a provision inserted into the budget deal Oct. 28, and signed into law Nov. 2 – but still with a rather costly caveat.

Read article