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Obamacare has significantly altered the economics

Posted: Sep 2, 2016

There were certainly issues with healthcare coverage prior to Obamacare that could have been taken care of in a number of more effective and less expensive ways. Obamacare amounts to knocking the fly off baby's chin with an axe. And it's not going to get better.;

Please explain. How did it change labor costs & comp - Thanks - nm

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Many ways but as just one example, the 50th employee. - sm

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Companies hiring the 50th employee, which triggers Obamacare requirements. This mean that the 50th employee must now not only justify his own direct wage and other labor costs, but the sudden burden of coverage for all the other 49 employees.

Don't think that changes the economics of labor decisions?

That article is 2013 and is speculative. - Verification?

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The 50 employee threshold is also true for the Fair Labor and Standards Act regulations. I think that by the time you have a payroll of 50 people, you probably already are providing health insurance so I would be interested in seeing actual verified statistics.

Paid health insurance is a positive factor for people choosing a place to work. Why would we advocate for a race to the bottom for wages and benefits?

anon - anon

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What good is ObamaCare if you cannot afford to go to the doctor and pay your copay after paying your insurance premium. This was the dumbest plan on the earth. Need something more affordable for people with not such high deductibles. Repeal ObamaCare.

Medicare for all - CEO compensation 10 million

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I think I found the increase in health care costs. The top 5 health insurance company executives all make more than 10 million each. Plus the company takes 20% off the top. What for? There is no value added. Medicare does not need all this to function.

Not speculative at all - and I think you don't - quite understand the ACA.

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The law in 2013 is the law today (well, with some 70 changes that Obama and his minions have unilaterally made to it).

The date of that article has nothing to do with anything. In 2016, as from the very beginning, the addition of the 50th employee triggers a threshold condition that impacts the cost of every employee.

Perhaps I can ignite your logical inference engine.

Simply Google "small employers dropping healthcare coverage" or similar phrases.

Then ask yourself why. You know the answer.

______

Or, you can take it from Hillary Clinton herself:

Clinton: ObamaCare Is Responsible For Businesses Shifting Workers To Part-Time.

QUESTIONER: “Hi, I just want to know why there is discrimination against the part-time workers when so many companies are going to part-time when it comes to FMLA?”

HILLARY CLINTON: “Well, that’s why they are going to part-time. That, and also, the Affordable Care Act. You know, we got to change that because we have built in some unfortunate incentives that discourage full-time employment. A lot of employers believe if you don’t work 40-hours a week you don’t get benefits and that includes; you don’t get health care benefits; that might include you’re not eligible for the family medical leave; you’re not eligible for paid sick days. So, there is a disincentive in our system that we need to deal with and I really worry about it because there is trend to try and move more and more people into part-time work; and how many of you are part-time workers? And sometimes you want to work part-time, it fits into your family, it fits into your life obligations but sometimes you want to work full-time but you can’t get a full-time job. So, I want to look at all the employment rules.” (Hillary Clinton, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Iowa City, IA, 12/16/15)

________

Or, you could familiarize yourself with the provisions of the act, including the reporting requirements. Then ask yourself what economic impact it would have on your business.

There really isn't any doubt about this. The ACA has changed the economics of employment.

Perhaps a bit more Googling is in order - Kaiser foundation stats

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44% of firms employing between three and nine offered health benefits in 2014. That figure rose to 64% for firms employing between 10 and 24 workers, 83% for firms employing 25 to 49 workers and 91% for companies with 50 to 99 employees.
* * *

Don't see much 50th employee threshold affect, here.

Actually my point is that I either want employer coverage or I want to be able to get private coverage. I am very happy Obamacare exists because I am not dependent on working for a terrible company just so I don't go bankrupt for lack of health insurance.

Yay Obamacare!

These numbers have nothing to do with the point at hand. - sm

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It would take a series of very long posts to educate you about the provisions of the ACA and its requirements, much less about what a vague term like "coverage" (in your numbers) actually entails.

However, I'll offer this. Your numbers come from a 2014 report, which reflects a time before many of the more burdensome provisions of the ACA went into effect, before the insurance carriers began to realize that they were going to lose $billions, and before the horrendous premium increases began along with down-sizing the coverage that their policies provided.

Since 2015, and now increasingly in 2016, all of the actuarial premises of the ACA are proving to be false or inaccurate, and that's why premiums are skyrocketing, which in turn is why small businesses are increasingly dropping coverage.

I told you at the very outset that you didn't have to go into the weeds of the details about ACA to see the point. Small businesses aren't dropping coverage for any reason other than that the ACA has changed the economics of employment. Indeed, there is no other reason that you could offer for this shift, especially since offering health insurance is considered a competitive advantage for employers. They don't simply WANT to drop the coverage but unfortunately, it's one that increasing numbers of small businesses cannot afford. This trend will likely spread upward to medium-sized businesses over the next few years as there are still more provisions (read, costs) that will go into effect, and as the insurance companies experience yet more losses.

All you need to do is to be able to draw a logical inference from plain facts, whether they happen to suit your preferred narrative or not. This is called intellectual honesty, and it's the opposite of clinging stubbornly to a position that you simply cannot defend.

Be teachable. The link below is from a few weeks ago and reflects the situation now, not in 2014 when things were very different, and before the thin gold veneer got scraped off the ACA to reveal the brass beneath.

healthcare benefits might not mean coverage - bananas

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Just because they "offer" healthcare benefits, doesn't mean they want you to take their benefits. At PJA, insurance for 2 people was $1300 a month, extra if you wanted to add dental, prescription and vision. The deductible was sky high also. Just because it is offered, does not mean you can afford to get it. They would much rather you get your own policy and save their meager contribution.

As an employee who has worked in health care for many years, I have seen first hand how Obamacare has decimated the industry. Lower reimbursement to hospitals and physicians are only a part of why this industry has gone down hill. Medicare and Medicaid pay them next to nothing. So they cut costs. We are the unfortunate casualties of war.

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