Small and medium-sized businesses are criticizing President Obama’s health reform proposal that was released yesterday. Advocates for small businesses believe that Obama’s health insurance proposal will impose stiffer requirements on employers to provide employees with group health insurance. They also believe that President Obama is not doing enough to lower overall health care costs.
Under President Obama’s proposal, businesses with more than 50 employees have to offer health insurance benefits or pay $2,000 per person, which would put financial pressure on already struggling employers.
In fact, writes the Wall Street Journal, one in five small businesses had reduced their work force because of rising health insurance costs in December.
Michelle Dimarob, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business said, “Employer mandates are the opposite of what small businesses need. Instead, they need more choice and lower costs. ”
Alternative to the president’s proposal, small businesses would rather create pools to increase competition and expand choice while controlling costs. Employers also favor tax-free financial contributions to employers who could purchase their own health insurance policies.
In addition, businesses are also concerned with the “Cadillac ” tax on high-cost health insurance plans, as well as the 0.9 percent surtax on individuals who earn more than $200,000 to cover Medicare expansion.
Hopefully, these issues will be discussed in full on Thursday’s summit.
Main Street Alliance, a national network of small business coalitions, came up with a very good request, asking that the government make a national definition of health insurance. A solid definition, they argue, would help small businesses know what the requirements are in terms of price and quality.