Health Care initiatives in the world of the unemployed

The employee benefits being dropped begins @ minute marker 2:20

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000087880&play=1

by John Hilston via Florida Today June 5, 2012

In the next few weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected issue its decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the controversial measure also known as Obamacare.

Supporters say the law is necessary to provide coverage to tens of millions of Americans who lack insurance and to control exploding health care costs. Opponents say the individual mandate, which requires everyone to purchase insurance or pay a fine, is an onerous burden.
Let’s explore a few of the impacts on small business and the economy.
We must first examine the nature of health insurance, which is essentially a legal gamble. Who knew that paying your monthly premium was kind of like sliding a few chips forward in Las Vegas?
If you are an insurance customer, you’re betting it’s more valuable to pay your monthly premium than to risk going without the potential financial protection that insurance provides.
The insurance company is betting it will be more valuable for them to collect your monthly premium and provide coverage than it would be to not offer coverage.
As more coverage is mandated by the government, the health insurance premium necessarily rises because the risk increases. This added risk is essentially another product that you are required to purchase.
Since health coverage is often part of one’s compensation package, you and your employer probably end up splitting the price increase. That said, the law of demand tell us that as prices increase, quantity demanded decreases.
In the case of health insurance, more expensive coverage may lead to some businesses reducing or eliminating coverage. This is the systemic risk associated with government mandates for increased coverage.
Another risk present in the national health care law is that businesses will opt to pay a fine for not offering health insurance coverage rather than offering coverage.
While it is possible that President Obama and Congress might agree to increase the fine such that it would not make sense for businesses to drop coverage, this alternative would simply force businesses to strain to offer coverage.
A strained business is a business that has difficulty sustaining growth and hiring more workers, things that we need in this fragile recovery.

John Hilston is an associate professor of economics on the Brevard Community College Palm Bay campus

A sad day when you wake up to find more of your rights have been taken away. The only hope now is repeal.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/supreme-court-issue-obamacare-decision-135554880.html

This was obviously written before the Court decision yesterday, it leaves out (amoung other things) the mandate (a penalty if you dont purchase health insurance) which the Court creatively declaired a tax yesterday.......



http://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-obamacare-means-for-your-taxes.html

Where were all of the brilliant people in the media asking these questions when the bill was being shoved up our nose with every rule bending parlimentary trick in the book by one party rule. "Will there be enough Doctors?" isnt this is a hell of a time to ask that??

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120629/NEWS01/306290037/aca-affordable-care-act-obamacare?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Local News

I think Im starting to like this guy.................

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/rick-scott-opting-out-obamacare-right-decision-our-citizens

If this article is correct, it appears by the Gov's actions Obamacare may be contained somewhat here. Apparently if the State elects not to set up exchanges, then the Fed exchanges kick in, but in the haste to pass this law, they didnt fund the Federal exchanges. Not to mention if there are no funded exchanges, then the employer mandate cant be enforced.



http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/obamacares-now-bigger-mess

This will incentivize companies to hire more people (not)



http://washingtonexaminer.com/cbo-to-employers-obamacare-has-4b-more-in-taxes-than-expected/article/2503013

So much for the "non-partisan" Congressional Budget Office .............



http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/23/obamacare-architects-preside-over-forthcoming-cbo-cost-analysis/

Interesting that this is touted as a "reduction", as it is simply some states choosing not to implement it, thus theoretically insuring less people resulting in less cost. The article quites CBO that a repeal would be a "cost" increase, however this simply means the added taxes included in Obamacare wouldnt be collected.



http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/239887-cbo-supreme-court-cut-cost-of-health-law-by-84b

Interesting, I saw a political ad on TV recently that cited the AARP as "non-partisan", this does not appear to be so......

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/24/how-aarp-support-for-obamacare-was-bought-and-paid-for/

This is what happenes when you try to direct tax policy at the well-to-do, they simply hire better accounts to find loop-holes around it.



http://www.cnbc.com/id/48942248

Still looking for that Obamacare "bend" in the cost curve.....................


http://news.yahoo.com/premiums-family-health-plans-hit-15-745-140623048.html

The Affordable Care Act - also called Obama Care-is the reason for layoffs at a Skaneateles Falls medical equipment manufacturer.

Welch Allyn officials told employees Monday that they will soon cut 275 jobs or about 10% of their workforce worldwide. The cuts include 45 jobs in Skaneateles. The restructuring will also include 75 local, voluntary buyouts over the next year-and-a-half.





CEO Steve Meyer says a new 2.3 percent federal tax on sales of medical equipment-a requirement under Obama Care-is part of the reason for the job cuts. The Syracuse Post Standard reports the new tax is expected to cost the company millions of dollars. The tax begins In January.

Welch Allyn employs 13-hundred people at their Skaneateles headquarters