Business, split on the cures, warily awaits health care reform - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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President Barack Obama has mobilizefd the grassroots supporters who helped elect him to lobbyg for his vision of healthcare reform, whicn includes offering Americans a government-run healthn plan as an alternative to privats insurance. A coalition of labor unions and progressive organizations planse tospend $82 million on organizing advertising, research and lobbying to supporft the Obama plan. Business meanwhile, mostly are working behind the scenes to shape the While they have serious concerns abouty some ofthe proposals—including the public plan optio and a mandate for employers to provide insurance—fesw are trying to block health care reform at this The cost of health insurance has becomde so burdensome that something needas to be done, they “Nobody supports the status quo,” said James Gelfand, the ’s seniod manager of health policy.
“We absolutely have to have reform.” For most businessw groups, that means reining in health care costa and reforming insurance marketa so that employers have more choices in the typez ofplans available. To achiev e those goals, however, businesses may have to swalloww somebitter medicine. An employer mandatw tops the list of concernws for manybusiness groups, just as it did when Bill Clinton pushefd his health care reform plan when he was presidengt in the 1990s. The Senatre bill may include a provision that woulxd require employers to either provide healtbh insurance to their employees or pay a fee to thefedera government.
Some small business ownera don’t have a problem with that, includin g members of the Main Street which is part of the coalition lobbying for theObama plan. “The way our system works now, wherr responsible employers offer coverage andother don’t, leaves us in a situation with an unleveol playing field,” 11 alliance members said in a statement submitted to the Senat e Finance Committee. “If we’re contributing but other employere aren’t, that gives them a financialp advantageover us. We need to level the playiny field through a system where everyone pitches in areasonable amount.
” Most business however, contend that employers who can affored to provide health insurance do so already becauser it helps them attract and keep good employees. Businessews that don’t provide health insurance tend tobe “marginallyt profitable,” said Denny Dennis, senior research fellow at the . Imposing a “plah or pay” insurance requirementy on these businesses would cost the economy morethan 1.6 millio jobs, according to a study. Tax credits could offsert some of the costs for providingthis coverage, but Gelfan said the credits under discussion are “extremely limited.
” Congresx also could exempt some smalk businesses—such as firms with less than $500,000 in annua l payroll—from the employer mandate. Many business groups, see this proposal as an attempt to split the business not asmeaningful relief. “We oppos e small business carve-outs because they make it easiee for Congress to apply mandates againsylarger employers,” said Neil Trautwein, vice presiden t and employee benefits polichy counsel for the . “It’s also easy for Congress to come back and try to apply the mandatweagainst ever-smaller employers.
“No matter how good the surroundingb healthcare reform, a bill containing an employer mandate wouls be too high a price to pay for reform.” Publidc plan or market reforms? Most small business groupws also are wary of proposals to create a government-run insurancs plan, like Medicare, that would be availablse as an option for small businesses and individuals. The Main Street Alliance contends a public plan is needed to provider competition to private insurers and reducs the cost ofhealth insurance. NFIB spokeswomam Stephanie Cathcart saidher organization’s however, “are wary of government-rumn health care.
” They fear a government-runm plan would drive privats insurers out of the market. Gelfandr said a government plan wouldn’t be needed if insurancr market reforms, such as prohibitingt insurers from denying coveragefor pre-existing conditions, were He hopes the larger goal of health care reform—lowerinv costs so more people can afford coverage—doesn’tg get lost in battles over public planx and employer mandates.
“If this thinvg gets derailed, it’s going to be bad for everybody,” he