I wondered how long....big business cutting health insurance

[POC]

Read this over on 24hourcampfire.com, thought I'd spread it around....
AT&T, Verizon, CAT and Deere, all Fortune 500 companies, "thinking" of dumping their health insurance for employees...
http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/05/news/companies/dropping_benefits.fortune/

Here's a quick quote, but the whole article really is a good read for everyone.

"Internal documents recently reviewed by Fortune, originally requested by Congress, show what the bill's critics predicted, and what its champions dreaded: many large companies are examining a course that was heretofore unthinkable, dumping the health care coverage they provide to their workers in exchange for paying penalty fees to the government.

That would dismantle the employer-based system that has reigned since World War II. It would also seem to contradict President Obama's statements that Americans who like their current plans could keep them. And as we'll see, it would hugely magnify the projected costs for the bill, which controls deficits only by assuming that America's employers would remain the backbone of the nation's health care system."

 

[Mike_M]

This is what happens when we have academics and political hacks writing laws. They have no real-world experience to draw upon.

I like the quote about Corporations being complimentary about the law. Talk about spin.......LOL Of course they would be, not playing isolates them from ever escalating health costs and improves their bottom line and their management bonuses.

Now we have to wait for the next shoe to drop as health care providers figure out what to do. Why would anyone want to go to medical school when the cost of education continues to rise while the government continues to cut reimbursement rates?

Here are other organizations run by political hacks...... Medicare, Veterans Administration, US Postal Service, Fannie Mae, Sallie Mae, Amtrak...... and now Government Motors.

 

[Mike_M]

One more thought:

At least when Corporations are footing the bill for health care, they exert pressure on insurance companies to keep premiums under control. Does anyone here think the government will do better than that in keeping Big Insurance from raping the public with huge escalation of premiums?

 

[5.56'aholic]

No surprise. Anyone with a brain new this would be coming. It only makes sense when the penalty is far cheaper than actually providing the insurance. I cannot believe no one in our government was smart enough to figure this out, surely they have had some experience in the real world, right?

 

[melensdad]

Sad fact is that the ObamaCare crowd CAUSED this situation. They added BILLIONS of dollars in costs onto businesses that provide health care. The only choices the businesses have are to:

1-raise prices of the good they sell to offset the new government costs.
2-raise the employee contribution portion of the health care to cover the new government costs.
3-drop the insurance and let people get the 'free' ObamaCare​

Remember when Verizon announced that their costs for THIS YEAR ALONE would go up something like $1 BILLION dollars because of the new tax rules and Democrat Henry Waxman called congressional hearings . . . he said the big companies were liars . . . oh and then the media jumped on it and looked at the facts and found that Verizon and all the other big companies were correct . . . and then Congressman Waxman quietly CANCELLED the congressional hearings!!!

I guess the liberal Congressman didn't want his butt handed to him on a platter on national TV.

 

[POC]

Sad fact is that the ObamaCare crowd CAUSED this situation. They added BILLIONS of dollars in costs onto businesses that provide health care. The only choices the businesses have are to:

1-raise prices of the good they sell to offset the new government costs.
2-raise the employee contribution portion of the health care to cover the new government costs.
3-drop the insurance and let people get the 'free' ObamaCare​

Exactly, good for them!

​

Remember when Verizon announced that their costs for THIS YEAR ALONE would go up something like $1 BILLION dollars because of the new tax rules and Democrat Henry Waxman called congressional hearings . . . he said the big companies were liars . . . oh and then the media jumped on it and looked at the facts and found that Verizon and all the other big companies were correct . . . and then Congressman Waxman quietly CANCELLED the congressional hearings!!!

I guess the liberal Congressman didn't want his butt handed to him on a platter on national TV.

That is what the article bears out.

 

[Joe Williams]

I do not think this is an unintended consequence. I believe the goal of the bill is to eventually leave government health care as the only viable option, forcing people to look to the government for their care. That gives folks in D.C. immense power, and makes it easier to drive our ecomony and government further toward the Soviet model.

 

[Expat]

I don't think this is a mistake or something overlooked by the ruling regime. I am sure you have seen the video clips of dear leader where he said that he wanted to eventually get to a single payer system. You people just don't understand yet, apparently. He wants to fundamentally transform this country. He has said that. Why don't people actually listen to what he has said. In order to get to the completely socialized system that they want to get to, they have to completely destroy what we have now. So he is going to destroy the current employer based system of health insurance that we have. Then his socialist utopia can rise from its wreckage.

 

[melensdad]

I do not think this is an unintended consequence. I believe the goal of the bill is to eventually leave government health care as the only viable option, forcing people to look to the government for their care. That gives folks in D.C. immense power, and makes it easier to drive our ecomony and government further toward the Soviet model.

To this I am in total agreement.

They structure a plan that forces business into a corner. When business does what it must do then business looks like the bad guy.

There is no way that this situation was not intentionally created by this administration.

 

[jedi]

+1 on the article. From the article it looks like 2016 and 2018 are when the other shoe will drop. So lets see who will be in office by that point?

2012-2016 Next P
2016-2020 Next P2

If we manage to survive the end of the world in 2012 (j/k) then it does look like the end of the world for the US in 2016-2020. Recall that MEDICARE will be in big trouble by 2016/17 as well. The perfect storm me thinks

 

[Colt556]

DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tyler34]

AT&T doesn't have insurance worth a crap anyway unless your a unionized sales rep then it's decent.(source: I'm under I'm AT&T insurance plan)

 

[bman]

the company I work for has already said the cost will be going up for the employee's.

 

[6birds]

AT&T doesn't have insurance worth a crap anyway unless your a unionized sales rep then it's decent.(source: I'm under I'm AT&T insurance plan)

Wait until you see the one Obama gives you

 

[tyler34]

Wait until you see the one Obama gives you

AT&T may be worse than the government when it comes to screwing people over so...

 

[jedi]

Wait until you see the one Obama gives you

6birds that sounds so nasty. +1 rep for you! I owe you it won't let me give it 2 u right now.

AT&T may be worse than the government when it comes to screwing people over so...

Incorrect tyler34, at least with your "expensive premium" AT&T insurance you can and will see a doc in a timely manner. With the gov plan expect to be on a waiting list for a long time to see the general doc. Think HMO type plans.

 

[tyler34]

Incorrect tyler34, at least with your "expensive premium" AT&T insurance you can and will see a doc in a timely manner. With the gov plan expect to be on a waiting list for a long time to see the general doc. Think HMO type plans.

well your partially correct. but they are worse than medicare when it comes to who you can and can't see. they tried to tell us the only dentist we could see was in lafayette, not to convenient in my book. and most everything has to be approved by AT&T before you can go which can take forever sometimes.

 

[6birds]

AT&T may be worse than the government when it comes to screwing people over so...

You can leave ATT, for a change in pay, hours, responsibility, or insurance. You can jump on the wife's insurance to try something different. When government care hits you, there is no option left.

 

[mettle]

I hope the companies go through with it, and the system/bill crashes at their feet... I'm not paying for it either...

 

[Expat]

I hope the companies go through with it, and the system/bill crashes at their feet... I'm not paying for it either...

That's why they are adding the 15,000 IRS agents
Didn't they start purchasing more weapons also? Been nice having you here with us mettle.