Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wonder how many small businesses would still be in business today if it were not for the unfair health care issues..... I can say one company for sure , that would be the one I was CEO of .
Wait you were the CEO of acompany that went out of business because of health care issues. So what do you think about HC reform. Will this bill help or hurt businesses like your old one. I want to know your perspective.
Wait you were the CEO of acompany that went out of business because of health care issues. So what do you think about HC reform. Will this bill help or hurt businesses like your old one. I want to know your perspective.
I know this legislation won't help small businesses.
I know you're directing it towards a certain person but this legislation doesn't help small businesses.
I know this legislation won't help small businesses.
I know you're directing it towards a certain person but this legislation doesn't help small businesses.
I wanted to know more about if the present system hurt his business. I hope this bill helps small business I dont think anyone would try and hurt small businesses. But something with the old system is not working either.
I wanted to know more about if the present system hurt his business. I hope this bill helps small business I dont think anyone would try and hurt small businesses. But something with the old system is not working either.
Small businesses don't have the large risk pool like larger companies do so their premiums are higher. If one employee incurs a costly illness, it can cause the premiums for the small business to skyrocket.
I don't think our "representatives" were trying to hurt small businesses with this bill but they certainly didn't help. It would have been nice if small businesses in a state or area could pool together for a lower rate.
Of course I prefer a single-payer system but in the meantime while we're wasting $$ on for-profit health insurance companies....that's an idea that could have helped small businesses.
A small business can just make all their employees contractors and then they won't be penalized or charged any fines nor mandated to provide insurance. Each contractor now will be responsible to go get their own insurance on their own dime.
I lean mostly to the left liberal side, but I am not so sure of the current bill that is going through the Senate. It looks like everyone was paid off to get what they want for their own state just to pass it. There is no doubt we need to reform the current system, so what would be your plan? I am currently one of the people who work full time, but my employer offers no insurance, and I cannot afford private insurance. Still, I feel this bill is flawed, so I thought I would ask the other side for their viewpoint.
Look at the last eight years...there is your answer, NOTHING.
A small business can just make all their employees contractors and then they won't be penalized or charged any fines nor mandated to provide insurance. Each contractor now will be responsible to go get their own insurance on their own dime.
That's one way small business can survive.
thats how we do it where i'm at. we are all contractors. the other plus is great tax writeoffs. but you gotta work and produce to make it work.lazy bums need not apply
I agree that the issue of healthcare reform could have/should have been addressed prior to the present. It's really unfortunate for the general taxpaying public that it hadn't been addressed prior to the Obama-Pelosi-Reid machine took office, because now we are faced with their ill-advised pork laden failure of a bill that only serves to overburden the already hurting tax base and pad the pockets of the special interest groups backing the bill.
A few random thoughts...
1) Health insurance companies are not the all encompassing evil made out to be by the press. Sure, major reforms to the industry are in order, I'm not discounting that (ie., antitrust and price fixing for one). However, contrary to popular belief insurance companies pull in a whopping average of 5% annual profit. Is that corporate greed? You be the judge. Premiums have increased astronomically over the past 4 years, each year in the double digits. So we must ask ourselves what is the cause for these HUGE increases? If the increases aren't going to pad profits, then obviously they are going to pay increased expenses. Tort reform sounds like it would help solve this, at least to some extent. As would getting rid of state mandates requiring coverage for fertility treatments, erectile dysfunction, etc.
2) As a healthcare professional that has worked in the VA hospital providing services to our vets, I can say from experience that the wait times for non-emergent evaluations and treatment in the VA system is horrendous.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods outlined what I agree would make the most sense in TRUE healthcare reform. Here are his proposals:
• Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits. Now employer health insurance benefits are fully tax deductible, but individual health insurance is not. This is unfair.
• Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines. We should all have the legal right to purchase health insurance from any insurance company in any state and we should be able use that insurance wherever we live. Health insurance should be portable.
• Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover. These mandates have increased the cost of health insurance by billions of dollars. What is insured and what is not insured should be determined by individual customer preferences and not through special-interest lobbying.
• Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. These costs are passed back to us through much higher prices for health care.
• Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost. How many people know the total cost of their last doctor's visit and how that total breaks down? What other goods or services do we buy without knowing how much they will cost us?
• Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towards bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.
• Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
I also think revising tax laws and incentivising the utilization of Healthcare Saving Accounts is key. here is an interesting read showing how the use of HSA's could cut our healthcare costs in half without sacrificing quality. The Singapore Alternative « John Stossel
Wait you were the CEO of acompany that went out of business because of health care issues. So what do you think about HC reform. Will this bill help or hurt businesses like your old one. I want to know your perspective.
Well first off , we cound not compete....with big business. Every time we tried to attract new and better workers , the pre existing issues would come up , and throw out our entire, sort of affordable ," plan". Very qualified people would come to us , looking for an entry level Company to latch onto...all looked promising until the issue of " benefits" came up . That retarded ed our ability to grow, and , over the years , became part of our down fall....we just could not compete.
Second, not being able to grow along with miss opportunities when we saw them, eventually drove away long time employees, who were the back bone of our niche business.
I reverted to making all workers independent contractors , paying more than the going scale ( which also cut our available growth funds ) , and eventually the end of the business. Sales were also effected. The Unions were a problem when competing for Government jobs , and larger contracts.The Union companies did have higher overhead than us , but kept the contracts , it was always a vicious circle.... I did hold on for 25 years , but never grew in size as the others that had and could provide the benefits. Just a small part of the problem , from a direct perspective, the ramifications were much more than I can easily relate here. Sort of being like a second class citizen on your own Country. We were in the Trucking Business , carving out a niche market in industrial machinery transport.
A small business can just make all their employees contractors and then they won't be penalized or charged any fines nor mandated to provide insurance. Each contractor now will be responsible to go get their own insurance on their own dime.
That's one way small business can survive.
That will only work for a while , I know. The IRS will be lookin at you , one slip up , you are toast ! been tried many times ,...the current laws are not in favor of this avoidance system.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
