Obamacare, helping small business since 2010

[06wildcat]

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/01/06/more-small-businesses-offering-health-care-to-employees-thanks-to-obamacare/

[Jeffy]

The additional cost is likely reflected in the number of people they hire.

Insurance needs to be eliminated as a benefit from a job or made completely portable between jobs.

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/01/06/more-small-businesses-offering-health-care-to-employees-thanks-to-obamacare/

Hey, guess what? We could have just given a tax break to small companies for providing health insurance to their employees without a burdensome 2500 page bill that increases the IRS payroll by 17000 employees.

Or, maybe because many small insurance companies have folded because they can't afford to insure high risk people, the larger insurance companies are gaining more clients. Fewer insurance companies means higher rates for all.

Pretty lame unsubstantiated article.

[mortons toe]

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/01/06/more-small-businesses-offering-health-care-to-employees-thanks-to-obamacare/

Hey, guess what? We could have just given a tax break to small companies for providing health insurance to their employees without a burdensome 2500 page bill that increases the IRS payroll by 17000 employees.

Or, maybe because many small insurance companies have folded because they can't afford to insure high risk people, the larger insurance companies are gaining more clients. Fewer insurance companies means higher rates for all.

Pretty lame unsubstantiated article.

06 is in hyper-donk mode today. His post in cyber-security about "not doing anything wrong" is further evidence.

Jeffy, check out the time of your post... it is your day! carpe diem! 

[06wildcat]

The additional cost is likely reflected in the number of people they hire.

Insurance needs to be eliminated as a benefit from a job or made completely portable between jobs.

If only Obama had offered a solution that could have made this possible. 

[Sugar Dick]

I heard Obama's healthcare plan was going to get repealed because it was such a lousy idea in the first place.  Mods?

In response to the initial post, how does this help the millions of people who refuse to go to work, or are too stupid to get a job that pays for healthcare?  Aren't they entitled to "free" healthcare also?  Thanks, I'll listen off air.

Lastly, I wonder why wage growth is growing slower than inflation?  Does wage growth include the roughly40% increase in insurance premiums that a wage earner's employer has to pay?  Afterall that is compensation, right?  I mean if insurance premiums hadn't have skyrocketed there'd be more money for wages right?

[AzCat]

And now, the rest of the story reality intrudes on donk's dreams.  Might also want to check into the history of the Small Business Majority, a well-known lefty advocacy group that's never met a Democrat policy initiative they thought would be other than a panacea for small businesses (of course the lawyer who authored the blog post 06 linked is just the sort of small business that benefits tremendously from Democrat policies). 

As for any inducement via the new tax credit ... not really.  Here's how it works in a nutshell:

Businesses that pay their employees a smaller amount get a larger tax credit, and businesses that pay higher wages get a smaller tax credit.   The amount of the tax credit is phased out by a ratio of the employers average annual wages.  An employer that has average annual wages of $25,000.00 would receive a tax credit equal to 50% of the employers contributions to it’s employees health insurance premiums.  If the employer has average annual wages of $35,000.00 the tax credit is reduced to 20%.  If the employers average annual wage is $50,000.00 they are not eligible for the tax credit.

I'm a cheap bastard and even I'd have to cut payroll by over 40% to qualify for the whole credit.  Given the ultra-low threshold at which the phase out begins this really isn't much of an inducement and certainly isn't going to produce the spike 06's blog post claims.  That dosn't even pass the smell test. 

[06wildcat]

And now, the rest of the story reality intrudes on donk's dreams.  Might also want to check into the history of the Small Business Majority, a well-known lefty advocacy group that's never met a Democrat policy initiative they thought would be other than a panacea for small businesses (of course the lawyer who authored the blog post 06 linked is just the sort of small business that benefits tremendously from Democrat policies). 

As for any inducement via the new tax credit ... not really.  Here's how it works in a nutshell:

Businesses that pay their employees a smaller amount get a larger tax credit, and businesses that pay higher wages get a smaller tax credit.   The amount of the tax credit is phased out by a ratio of the employers average annual wages.  An employer that has average annual wages of $25,000.00 would receive a tax credit equal to 50% of the employers contributions to it’s employees health insurance premiums.  If the employer has average annual wages of $35,000.00 the tax credit is reduced to 20%.  If the employers average annual wage is $50,000.00 they are not eligible for the tax credit.

I'm a cheap bastard and even I'd have to cut payroll by over 40% to qualify for the whole credit.  Given the ultra-low threshold at which the phase out begins this really isn't much of an inducement and certainly isn't going to produce the spike 06's blog post claims.  That dosn't even pass the smell test. 

You mean to tell me the credit was geared toward those jobs that most likely don't offer any insurance to begin with? Well that's a really dumb idea to try an insure as many people as possible.

The blog post does have its problems, namely it's based wholly on anecdotal evidence, but it is good news if 38 percent of new enrollments at BCBSMO are first time buyers of health insurance. And like the blog said, we'll know more in May or June when all the tax forms are in.