Originally Posted By EdisYoda I've been thinking about this alot. One of the complaints about the health care plan is the mandate that small businesses must provide health insurance to their employees. (I forget the minimum employee amount). The mandate says, and correct me if I'm wrong (which I'm sure you will) is that they must provide health insurance to their employees. It doesn't say what they must pay for part of it. The complaint is that this mandate will force small businesses out of business. I disagree. I work for a contracting company. I am contracted out to work for a company that happens to be in the healthcare industry. My individual insurance premium is roughly $400 per month. This is roughly the same price that I would pay (assuming I could get insurance on the open market) on the open market. How is this additional cost to the company? Of course, there is an administrative cost, but this is minimal in comparison to the cost of the insurance. Also, small businesses can pool their resources to provide group plans. I honestly don't see the big deal here.
Originally Posted By velo I agree completely, Ed. As a retail accountant for businesses with small numbers of employees I know that this could work - the "administration" of these plans really doesn't take much at all, honestly. And I truly feel that if similar small businesses could team up to buy a group plan the cost of coverage could be kept to an affordable level. It's the insurance companies that need to make this happen though; I hope that they will.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox The cutoff is fewer than 50 employees. And 97% of small businesses in this country have fewer than 50 employees: <a href="http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/07/27/gop-exploits-small-business-for-political-gain" target="_blank">http://www.usnews.com/opinion/...cal-gain</a> <> Healthcare. Critics of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, claim that the legislation would somehow hurt small business. Nothing in the act supports this claim. All businesses with less than 50 employees are exempt from the requirement to offer insurance or pay a penalty. Ninety-seven percent of small businesses meet this exemption. Businesses with 50-199 employees pay only $2,000 per uninsured employee, less than half the cost of the average policy. According to John Sheils, senior vice president of a healthcare consulting subsidiary of UnitedHealth, small business "actually could come out ahead…. They don't face the mandate and they could get a tax credit…" <>
Originally Posted By TomSawyer It's just a transitional step. Within a year or two we'll be able to subscribe to a national not-for-profit health care plan that is managed by the same part of the government that manages health insurance for federal employees.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Within a year or two we'll be able to subscribe to a national not-for-profit health care plan that is managed by the same part of the government that manages health insurance for federal employees.> I hope so - but I don't see how as long as the GOP controls the House. After 2014? I hope so.
Originally Posted By andyll I believe the employer has to pay some part of it... maybe 50%? Not sure. But it still isn't that big of deal. With the exchanges they will be able to get group rates and a high deductable or consumer directed policy the cost will be minimal. Plus small companies get some credits for this.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer It's already part of Obamacare, Dabob, so it doesn't matter whether the House is held by the GOP or not. It's already law.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney >>I've been thinking about this alot. One of the complaints about the health care plan is the mandate that small businesses must provide health insurance to their employees. (I forget the minimum employee amount).<< Romney's plan in Mass had a lower employee amount than Obama has set. Maybe look there to see how it has worked for small businesses.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <It's already part of Obamacare, Dabob, so it doesn't matter whether the House is held by the GOP or not. It's already law.> Okay - I thought you were referring to the public option.
