Citing costs associated with the new healthcare law, United Parcel Service has announced that it will no longer provide health insurance to spouses of its white collar workers who can obtain coverage through their own employer. The company estimates that of the approximately 33,000 spouses covered under its insurance plan, about 15,000 will be able to gain coverage through from their own place of work. The move by U.P.S. follows similar action taken by other employers, including Xerox and Teva Pharmaceuticals. Several health care analysts suspect that the change was brought on to avoid the Cadillac tax established by the new healthcare law, which will levy a 40 percent tax on premiums that rise above a certain level beginning in 2018.
See "U.P.S. to end health benefits for spouses of some workers", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, August 22, 2013