Potential For New Costs From Health Law, Other Regs Trigger Business, Worker Concerns
One report looks at anxiety about a future tax on generous health plans, while another article focuses on small business owners, whose worries include requirements for health coverage for employees and new costs from mandated pay increases and paid sick leave laws in some states and cities.
The New York Times:
Labor And Employers Join In Opposition To A Health Care Tax
At the paper mill in Longview, Wash., Kurt Gallow and his wife, Brenda, are worrying about his company’s proposed new health care plan, which would require workers to pay as much as $6,000 toward their families’ medical bills. ... The union is now in heated negotiations with the mill’s owner, KapStone Paper and Packaging, over benefits, among other issues. The couple and many other employees have been enrolled in a popular Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization, which charged just $25 for a doctor’s visit. But that may change by January. Pointing to the looming new tax on high cost insurance plans imposed under the federal health care law, KapStone wants to replace its existing policies with plans that could prove far more expensive for workers and their families. By doing so, the company would save almost $3 million in additional taxes in just the first two and a half years. (Abelson, 7/21)
The Associated Press:
Costs From Regulations Pile Up, Hurt Small Business Profits
It’s getting more expensive to be an employer and small business owners say that’s making it harder for them to make money. The health care law, minimum wage increases and paid sick leave laws in some states and cities are increasing costs. ... They may be required to offer health insurance starting Jan. 1 if they go ahead with plans to offer dinner at the restaurant, which now serves breakfast and lunch. The expansion could give the Lamons 50 or more workers, the point at which employers must provide coverage. (Rosenberg, 7/22)