NO DENT ON JOB GROWTH, OFFICIAL SAYS

The 2010 health care law is not affecting job growth, said Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. » Job growth in industries that have traditionally not provided health insurance for their employees, such as restaurants, was higher. Restaurant sales and employment have increased more than any other retail sales industry since the law was signed, at about 11 percent for employment and 17 percent in retail sales, and weekly hours also have grown about 3 percent since the law was signed. this week to repeal parts of the law. It is their 40th attempt to repeal, change or defund the law. The bill is not likely to make it to the Senate.

The administration is working to gain 7 million new people to purchase private insurance through the federal and state health marketplaces, or exchanges, beginning in October. Administration officials stressed that their message has been streamlined to those who need insurance. To that end, they are appealing to young, mostly Hispanic Americans in Florida, California and Texas.

In other words, middle-class Americans living in Idaho and those covered by employer-sponsored insurance probably won’t see advertisements for the new insurance programs.

Meanwhile, states that have released the rates insurers provided for the policies to be sold on state-sponsored health exchanges have turned out to be lower than expected.