UPS Drops Some Health Benefits, Blames ObamaCare

UPS is dropping coverage for 15,000 employees' spouses, and blaming the move on the "costs associated with the Affordable Care Act." The move will only apply to spouses who have coverage through their own employers and only to non-union white-collar workers, but it's still likely to fuel debate about the controversial health care law. An internal memo obtained by Kaiser Health News and USA Today cites the law multiple times as justification, saying the change "is consistent with the way many large employers are responding" to ObamaCare.

"Since the Affordable Care Act requires employers to provide affordable coverage, we believe your spouse should be covered by their own employer," the memo adds. Many companies charge an extra fee to cover spouses employed elsewhere, but UPS is one of a small handful to ban them outright. "We don't see a lot of that out there, but more than we used to," one large insurance broker observes. (More Affordable Care Act stories.)