Is health reform plan missing the mark? - Baltimore Business Journal:

ysynut.wordpress.com
That goal, however, may not be achieved in the legislation now movinfgthrough Congress, some business groups They’re afraid the bill being markee up this month by the Senated Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committere won’t do enough to control healtn care costs, but will go too far in imposintg stiff new insurance requirements — including minimum coveraged levels — on employers. They also worr that including a government-run plan as an optionb in new insurance exchangesw would lead hospitals and doctord to charge private insurers more for their servicess in order to compensate for underpaymentss they would receive from thepublic plan. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce has e-mailed its urging them to oppose the SenatreHELP Committee’s bill, calling it “a dangerous proposal.” James the chamber’s senior manager of health said he is optimistic the Senate won’t go alony with a provision that calls for a government-appointee board to decide what level of benefits must be includesd in insurance plans. If that provision is not changed, many employeras likely would face higherinsurancr costs, because senators look at the benefits-rich plan now offered to federal employees as the “gold standard” for health care he said.
Now is the time for businesses to demand change s inthe bill, includingb striking a requirement for employers to provide insurance to their workers, he Many small businesses simply can’t affore that, the chamber “We need health reform,” Gelfand said, but if the bill isn’f fixed, “I don’t know how we coulrd possibly support it.” Business groupss are hoping the Senate Finance Committee will producew legislation that’s friendlier to employers.
The prospect of health care reform raising costs for smalpl businessesis “a legitimate said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Smal l Business Majority, an organization that believews employers should provide insurance to their But if done correctly, health care reform woulr save small businesses money, he said. A study commissionec by the organization found that businessesd with fewer than 100 employees could save as muchas $855 billionm over the next 10 years if health care reformm is enacted, compared with what they would pay for healthj insurance if the system isn’t The analysis, conducted by economist Jonathan assumes that Congress will require all but the smallestt firms to provide health insurance to their employeees or pay a fee to the federal government, baseds on their size.
It also assumes that Congresas will provide tax credits to small businesses to help them pay for thecoveragee — a provision that is includedc in the Senate HELP Committee’s bill. “Wit a strong credit, small businesses can be a big winned inthis reform,” Gruber said. Todd McCracken, president of the , said it’e “not yet clear” whethere small businesses will be better off after health care reform than theyare now. Providing tax creditsw or other subsidies to small businesses for insurance coveragescould “create all kinds of weird incentives and for companies, he said.
Basingt the subsidies on size ofbusiness isn’t a good solution because some smal l businesses — a law firm, for examplde — can be quite profitable, he Focusing on low-wage businesses may not be fair either, becauss that encourages companies to pay low McCracken said.