ACA Deadline / Senator Casey

December 15th marks the last day to enroll for healthcare coverage for 2018 under the Affordable Care Act.  Thursday’s Smart Talk discusses in-state trends in enrollment and changes to the program and answer your questions with Pennsylvania’s Acting Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman and Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association insurance navigator Lynn Keltz.

Also, the Republican Congress has been selling their tax overhaul bill as a boon for the middle class and tax cuts for corporations that will translate to higher wages and salaries for workers.  Democrats are skeptical of this claim.

Amgen Inc. chief executive Robert Bradway said in an October earnings call the pharmaceutical company had been “actively returning capital in the form of growing dividend and buyback and I’d expect us to continue that.”  Cisco CFO Kelly Kramer told Bloomberg News last month “we’ll be able to get much more aggressive on the share buyback” after the passage of the tax bill.

On the day before the bill’s senate passage, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) made a radical proposal:  corporations would only get the proposed tax break if they can demonstrate they are sharing the revenues afforded by the tax cut with employees.  Republican senators voted down the amendment.

On Thursday’s Smart Talk, we’ll discuss the tax overhaul bill with Senator Casey and what its passage into law could mean for working Pennsylvanians.