On Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:57:10 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:11:16 -0700, jps wrote:

On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:24:20 -0400, H the K
wrote:

Eisboch wrote:
"Jack" wrote in message
...

Reformers' Claims Just Don't Add Up
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, July 17, 2009 4:20 PM PT


. America has a health care crisis.

---------------------------------

America does not have a health care crisis.

America has a welfare crisis.

Eisboch


Spoken like a "true Republican have."
"I've got mine, screw the poor, eh?"

There's a ton of small businesses like mine that are already stressed
by the cost of providing health care. Expect there are a lots having
to drop coverage because of cost. Ours has been going up at more than
10% a year and we've had to opt for inferior coverage to what we had
originally to keep it within our means.

I suppose if you're not currently operating a business, you might be
unaware how challenging the situation is...

If the business is stressed by providing health care, why provide it?
There is no governmental mandate that you do so. The only mandate in
most states is for the provisioin of Workman's Comp. Are your
employees incapable of providing thier own? Is the compensation given
your employees inadequate for their needs? Do you pay full cost of
their insurance? It is a common practice for businesses to help
relieve the (voluntary) stress of coverage by putting part or all of
the cost of coverage on the employee, even if their coverage is a
group. Have you explored HSA's, HRA's, FSA's? Are you aware that
insurance companies compete for you business? Are you aware that
HDHP's are desgined to keep premiums low? If your insurance is a
group, is it a PPO? If you are genuinely concerned about covering
your employees, have you earnestly explored all insurance options?

(I owned a manufacturing concern for more than a decade. It wouldn't
in your best interest to complain about any naivete on my part, in
asking these questions. (And I am also a licensed insurance agent.))



One of the weaknesses of your arguement is the competitive nature of
attracting desireable employees for your small business. In my experience,
employer health plans is a major consideration in the eyes of people
accepting positions in a company.

My state, (MA) also has had some screwy insurance laws over the years.
Things like requirements for 100 percent employee participation in the group
plan your company offers. I couldn't have multiple plans. If we had a Blue
Cross plan, I couldn't also offer a Tufts or Harvard plan as well.
This presented problems when a prospective employee's family doctor was
affiliated with one plan, but not with the company's plan. We had
situation once, early in the company's beginnings, where a key employee had
a youngster with a medical problem that was being managed by a doctor who
was affiliated with Harvard but not with Blue Cross. We ended up having to
change the whole company plan over to Harvard to make sure his kid and
family remained covered.

Eisboch


If the insurance provided was a PPO based group plan, the
consideration would be one of whether to remain in network or not.
There are benefits to encourage an insured to stay in network; but,
it's not necessary for the insured to do so. Still, a doctor
in-network can recommend a specialist outside of the network in a
circumstance that would allow the insured in-network benefits, 80/20
co-insurance, low out-of-pocket maximums, etc.
Too, the workforce, for the most part, is not ignorant of the
fact that coverage with the majority of employers will be with the
understanding that the prospective employee will have to participate
in paying for the coverage. Even still, those costs of doing business
that don't qualify as business expenses are ultimately passed onto the
consumer. If a business struggles to compete in the marketplace,
whether it's in the SOA or manufacturing, it competes in offering
product at competitive prices. Offering to pay for an employee's
health insurance may impact the cost of the final product. However,
one of the noted qualities of competition is that it leads to
innovation, and innovation can lead to discovering ways to lower costs
in all areas of the business unit. If a business finds it necessary
to offer a premium health insurance to attract key employees, then it
has the potential to lower costs elsewhere. Also, an enterprising
business can be innovative in attracting quality employees, within the
confines of the law, without the necessity of offering to provide
health insurance.

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