Health care reform could prove costly for some businesses - Portland Business Journal:

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But some business groups fear that this goal migh not be achieved in the legislation now movingthrougnh Congress. They’re afraid the bill being markexd up this month by theSenate Education, Labor and Pensions Committee won’t do enough to control health care costss and that it will go too far in imposingy stiff new insurance requirements — including minimum coverage levels on employers. They also worry that includinga government-run plan as an optiobn in new insurance exchanges would lead hospitals and doctorss to charge private insurers more for their serviceas to compensate for underpaymentd they would receive from the publicv plan.
The has e-mailed its urging them to oppose the Senat eHELP Committee’s bill, calling it “qa dangerous proposal.” James Gelfand, the chamber’s senior managet of health policy, said he is optimistic that the Senatd ultimately won’t go along with a provision that calls for a government-appointe board to decide what level of benefitw must be included in insurance plans. If that provision is not many employers likely wouldr face higher insurance costs becausde senators look atthe benefits-rich plan now offered to federalo employees as the “gold standard” for health care he said.
Now is the time for businesses to demand changez inthe bill, including striking a requirementy for employers to provide insurancer to their workers, he said. Many small businesses simply can’t afford that, the chamber contends. “We need healt h reform,” Gelfand said. But if the bill isn’t fixed, “I don’t know how we could possibluy support it.” Business groups are hoping the Senated Finance Committee will producelegislation that’s friendlietr to employers.
The prospect of healtjh care reform raising costs for smalpl businessesis “a legitimate fear,” said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Smalkl Business Majority, an organization that believesw employers should provide insurance to theidr workers. But if done correctly, health care reform woulrd save smallbusinesses money, he said. A stud y commissioned by the organization founxd that businesses with fewer than 100 employees could save as muchas $855 billion in the next 10 years if health care reformm is enacted, compared with what they would pay for health insurancer if the system isn’t reformed.
The conducted by economist Jonathan Gruber, assumes that Congres s will require all but the smallest firms to provid health insurance to their employees or pay a fee to thefederap government, based on their size. It also assumes that Congresx will provide tax credits to smalo businesses to help them pay for thecoverage — a provisionn that is included in the Senatr HELP Committee’s bill. “With a strongg credit, small businesses can be a big winner in this Gruber said. Todd McCracken, president of the , said it is “not yet clear” whether small businesses will be betterr off after health care reform than theyare now.
Providingy tax credits or other subsidies to small businesses for insurance coverageecould “create all kinds of weird incentivese and disincentives” for companies, he said. Basingb the subsidies on the size of abusinesd isn’t a good solution because some smalk businesses — a law firm, for example — can be quitde profitable, he said. Focusing on low-wage businesses mighyt not be fair either because that encourages companiese to pay low he said. “Whatever you subsidize, you get more he said.