Obamacare Refutes Warning of Corporate America Cost Surge

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Business groups said soon after Obamacare became law in 2010 that the sweeping health-care overhaul would impose huge new costs on U.S. employers, leading to job losses.

Three years later, with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in effect, none of the most dire predictions has come to pass. Insurance premiums for companies that offer health benefits increased less than 3 percent this year, the lowest rate in 16 years. While Wal-Mart Stores Inc. became the latest large employer to scale back its health benefits this month, the change affects only part-time workers -- saving the retailer an estimated $51 million a year.