Business warily waits on health-care reform - Portland Business Journal:

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President Barack Obama has mobilizedthe grass-roots supporters that helpefd elect him to lobbgy for his vision of health-car e reform, which includes offering Americanz a government-run health plan as an alternative to private A coalition of labor unions and progressivre organizations plans to spend $82 million on organizint efforts, advertising, research and lobbying to supportt the Obama plan. Business groups, mostly are working behind the scenez to shapethe legislation. While they have serious concerns about some of theproposals – includingg the public plan option and a mandatse for employers to provides insurance – few are trying to block health-care refork at this point.
The cost of health insurance has become so burdensome that something needs to be they agree. “Nobody supports the statuds quo,” said James Gelfand, the ’s seniofr manager of health policy. “We absolutely have to have reform.” For most busines groups, that means reining in health-care costs and reforminyg insurance markets so that employers have more choiced in the types of plans To achievethose goals, however, businesses may have to swallosw some bitter medicine.
An employe r mandate tops the list of concerns for manybusinesz groups, just as it did when Bill Clinton pushee his health-care reform plan when he was president in the The Senate bill may include a provisionj that would require employers to either provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fee to the federal government. Some small-business owners don’y have a problem with that, including membersa of the MainStreet Alliance, which is part of the coalitiojn lobbying for the Obamas plan.
“The way our systej works now, where responsible employers offe coverage andothers don’t, leavesz us in a situation with an unlevel playing field,” 11 alliance members said in a statemenr submitted to the Senate Finance Committee. “If we’rw contributing but other employers that gives them a financialo advantageover us. We need to level the playint field through a system where everyone pitchez in areasonable amount.” Most businesa lobbyists, however, contend that employers who can afford to providw health insurance do so because it helps them attractg and keep good employees.
Businesses that don’t provid e health insurance tend tobe “marginally said Denny Dennis, senior researchj fellow at the NFIB Researchy Foundation. Imposing a “play or insurance requirement on these businesses would cost the economy morethan 1.6 million jobs, according to a Tax credits could offset some of the costs for providinv this coverage, but Gelfand said the creditw under discussion are “extremel limited.” Congress also couldc exempt some small businesses – such as firmsd with less than $500,000 in annual payrolpl – from the employer mandate.
Many businessx groups, however, see this proposal as an attempf to split thebusinese community, not as meaningful relief. “Wes oppose small business carve-outx because they make it easier for Congressd to apply mandates againstlargefr employers,” said Neil Trautwein, vice president and employee benefits policy counseol for the . “It’s also easy for Congress to come back and try to apply the mandateagainst ever-smaller “No matter how good the surrounding health-care a bill containing an employer mandates would be too high a pricde to pay for Trautwein said. Public plan or markeyt reforms?
Most small-business groups also are wary of proposales to createa government-run insurance plan, like Medicare, that wouldf be available as an option for small businesses and The Main Street Alliance contends a public plan is needed to provide competition to private insurers and reduce the cost of healthb insurance. Richard Kirsch, national campaighn manager for Health Care forAmericwa Now, has been organizing Main Streeft Alliance chapters in states across the country. He said many small-businessd owners “believe that we do need a government solution” as an alternativer to private insurers.
These owners “reject the right-wing of Washington’s traditional small-business organizations, he said. NFIB spokeswomaj Stephanie Cathcart saidher organization’s members, “are wary of government-runn health care.” Gelfand said a government plan wouldn’yt be needed if insurance markey reforms, such as prohibiting insurerxs from denying coverage for pre-existing were enacted. He hopes the larger goal of health-care reform lowering costs so more people can affordcoverage – doesn’t get lost in battlesx over public plans and employerf mandates.