Who could have known? (Anyone who actually read the 1,000-plus-page bill could have. I know there are a few people in the US who did read the bill in its entirety...)
From Financial Times (2/18/2013; emphasis is mine):
US business hits out at ‘Obamacare’ costs
By Barney Jopson in New York and Alan Rappeport in Washington
US retailers and restaurants chains that employ millions of low-wage workers are considering cutting working hours or paying fines rather than enrolling employees in health insurance plans under Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law.
Employers are concerned that the law increases the cost of insuring employees on existing plans, partly by broadening the range of benefits. It also requires companies to insure some employees not previously covered.
David Dillon, chief executive of the Kroger supermarket chain, told the Financial Times that some companies might opt to pay a government-mandated penalty for not providing insurance because it was cheaper than the cost of coverage.
Nigel Travis, head of Dunkin’ Brands, said his doughnut chain was lobbying to change the definition of “full-time” employees eligible for coverage from those working at least 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week.
Some restaurants, including Wendy’s and Taco Bell franchises, have explored slashing worker hours so fewer employees qualify for health insurance, arguing that they cannot afford the additional healthcare costs. Other businesses are deliberately keeping headcounts below 50.
...“If you look through the economics of the penalty the companies pay versus the cost to provide coverage, the penalty’s too low, or the cost of coverage is too high, or the combination is wrong,” he said.
“If [policy makers] get those things too far out of balance, everybody will have to reconsider their position on that point, including us. But we’re going to wait and see how that all develops.”
The penalty for not providing coverage is $2,000 per worker. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan policy group, the average annual cost to employers of insurance is $4,664 for a single worker and $11,429 for a family.
(Full article at the link)
I sense what will happen next. The Obama government will raise the penalty, so the penalty matches or exceeds the coverage requirement. Then, bye bye 30-hour-per-week part time jobs ...
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11 comments:
Sometimes I think life is just one big unintended consequence.
Those that have filled out the federal forms to buy a gun, or ever had a hunting license, or bought a gun, ammunition, or related goods with a credit card, will likely have to pay a future premium for insurance, since supposedly they have an increased statistical "risk" of getting shot.
These companies doing this to avoid paying the costs are a drain on society. None of them are so cash strapped they can't provide insurance. They also risk public backlash for taking it out on workers by cutting hours etc. to avoid insurance costs. Papa Johns got considerable public backlash for making that threat to the media.
What is really needed in the US is universal single payer health insurance and some serious reform of how the health care sector is allowed to operate. While some inner city and rural hospitals have gone out of business others have so much cash they have to create new ways to spend it while keeping a non profit status. 10 cent pills cost $300 depending on what kind of insurance or lack of you have. The whole system is a mess. We also need to cease the notion that we owe any business sector a profit at the detriment to everyone else.
I like how people are blaming Obama in a society where people aren't willing to give up a single penny of profits to ensure the mutual prosperity of everyone.
Japan has a lot of dirty stuff with regards to Fukushima, but at least I had health insurance there and no fear about my health insurance should my work situation change. Don't blame Obama in this case, let's put some focus on the self-centered profit hunting corporate mentality which American society is accepting and has as much potential to kill America as the Fukushima disaster has to kill Japan.
Meanwhile in Alaska (and Canada,) debris has arrived on the beaches EARLIER than expected:
http://thesunbreak.com/2012/04/30/a-staggering-mess-as-tsunami-debris-hits-alaska-coast-early/
What the companies are really saying is that TO MAINTAIN THEIR CURRENT PROFIT LEVELS THEY WILL NEED TO CUT JOBS, HOURS, ETC.. Not a single company mentioned is NOT making huge profits. What they fail to mention is that the public is already subsidizing 1:Foodstamps for even the full time employees who still live below the poverty line 2: Healthcare for the same employees who can't afford insurance 3: Childcare and schooling for the same. How much more government/public subsidization do they really need? How come the people of this country are so freaking dumb? We Already Pay.....
I'll never understand why humans don't understand the concept of MUTUAL PROSPERITY.
Every fucking thing around us is made or provided by other people. Everything we know and have is the result of hundreds and thousands of years of lives and experiences.
This is what "society" means. Assholes who want to be selfish and focus on their own profits should go live on an island alone somewhere, and stop screwing with the rest of us.
As I understand it, goal is to spread the wealth to the less wealthy. So those fat cat millionaires should provide more dough..starting at the top..the Obamas, then the Senate and Congress, then the Executive Branch..and then Wall Street. Make the millionaires pay..US goverment/elected officials don't need a million dollars to live on, most US citizens would lOVE to see that figure someday-and never will. See what the officials say to that...
Setting penalties well below the profit a company can obtain by breaking the law is a setup often seen for financial and environmental matters: corporations will just do the math and choose the cheaper option. I am inclined to think that legislators know this all too well so, as it is now, it looks like obamacare is just designed to levy more taxes (as fines) without affording workers a proper health coverage.
Those part time jobs will not go away -- unless they can operate a restaurant without waiters.
They will just reduce the hours to less than 30 per week, no need to pay anything. Workers gets poorer.
Usual loophole artfully placed -- if you work less than 30hrs you never get sick?
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