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'On the Record'-Open for Business: Top business owners reveal the impact Obama's health care reform law will have on their companies and employees
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We've -- -- service -- -- -- the health has been due to busy about a thousand employees.
And I assume that the health care of the national health care is gonna have some impact if not a huge one.
It's going to be huge we spend a lot we also have a very generous plan we give people we have high deductible plan and give people 2500 dollars a year cash.
During the course of the year for out of pocket medical expenses so -- become more conscious of what things cost.
Both obamacare we don't know what the rules are going to be.
And we have to look would it be cheaper we're not gonna do what would it be cheaper to drop this expensive plan relatively good one.
Just don't put on the government pay the fine we'll save money.
And businesses that are Rafael feeling real tough times in terms of margins -- asked that question costs are going up.
Why not just go out of it is not what the government seems to want us to do and that's the thing that's going on all of us that's a huge expense of going up and no relief in sight.
The -- at that and I am that I exit Jason j.'s case that some companies that are publicly held.
And and they can't we know they can't be so magnanimous to say well I it was still -- to -- the insurance when they could get a they get a better deal by going the government wrote.
You know they don't sound they have some fiduciary duty to shareholders so beyond that there and put it onto -- -- -- -- services.
Well I think he'll pick people are focused in the bottom line that's what shareholders want and for us we've got 2500 employees.
And we offer health insurance to everybody and it's it's a very scary place cost containment it's been a huge problem.
Overall and I think that than just a Steve indicated we have to take a really hard look -- -- with cost issues and with a new Obama plan.
It's a very scary place and whether or not we can afford to maintain our costs and support plan.
Opinion of the day though if -- shareholders want more value than your talent needs to feel well taking care of I mean we've always been.
Very committed to providing -- even as we are at a small company we will lose saying you know money we were still providing great care because.
Might that mean something to my employees and my company how well they're being taken care of by the company affects their performance and I think -- that affects girls on -- -- In the growth as -- at the company saying they believe that he's our second -- -- -- -- that it's in play now.
There's there's -- thirty dark seeker and has every boardroom.
In every company United States now is discussing what to do that health care.
Because -- the bottom line is you don't know what the rules are perhaps you don't know what your costs are going to be.
And if you make a commitment by golly many in the taken on something a liability you didn't know you're taking on.
I think one of the benefits and this is the discussion is out there we have been able to communicate to employees this is why this is complicated about our business.
Many young people entering the war for -- even understand how health insurance works they think there.
You're just everyone's just paying and it's all free so I think the fact that it's become a -- plan discussion.
That people are more aware of what in fact the crisis is which is the rising health care costs.
It's gonna put -- and you know the focus I think back on everywhere and the American public.
Realizing at the foundation -- -- us being healthy Americans that's the only thing that's really going to save us on any side whether it's health care expenses or health care insurance -- if.
But -- -- that but the problem with -- obamacare is that it's becomes very restrictive.
We we pioneered this idea of having a high deductible give you the cash lets you make the decision if you get a generic instead of prescriptions money in your pocket you have skin in the game and therefore here you're gonna be much more better police person on these health care cautious -- program.
From the top -- But we don't know whether we're going to be able to do that in the future there may restrict the deductibles -- talking about cutting these things -- internally.
It's it's gonna it's gonna -- it's well try it out so let's let's put some real numbers on it -- people who Saucony esoteric.
We frightful health care for employees individuals that are -- thousand dollars a year of him was about 151000 -- senior citizen after about a hundred employees.
So let's average eight at 101000 dollars per per account in the company.
Pac 101000 to be 2000 with a plan next year.
So that's a significant cost savings for the company now we want to provide what's best for employees and that we actually it's working -- calculus.
But multiply that by -- Brian by -- -- -- tenfold for companies got 101000 place it's in play everybody needs to understand that right now at the board level.
There appear they -- and health care is being negotiated.
Which is we -- really understand.
The Obama care.
Mean that's the other thing -- -- -- does that mean everyone talks about a by the and we -- like you pick up between 800 pages.
Or if you look at the rules that are created by HHS -- -- name is how many people really.
Do understand and you know even at your level or any other level writing rules right and I think that -- -- -- -- of Emerson the insurance companies right absolutely candidate days out of Bob Obama care how the insurance companies are gonna respond to that.
Jason how much is that a decision that impact -- that we're in the uncertainty and it -- we don't know exactly know until actually tell by the couple is the wouldn't even know what the supreme court's gonna do.
On healthcare but what -- impact the uncertainty of the health care weather's gonna exist or not exist breather what it is.
For us again management -- you have to look about how you can sort of build -- more control of how you -- so from from our perspective.
We've only seen rising health care costs and now it's gonna get worse it would -- the reminds us how we gonna make healthier employees.
To the end of the day if you can contain costs to actually better perform some better health and welfare of our own employees who got a better shot -- containing costs so as we build our new facility.
Actually -- that thought is how we gonna -- health and wellness from round so that we have lower expenses because our employers are healthier and I think if we've climbed more -- for attitudes towards managing health care with our employee base to incentives.
That's kind of how it affects our thinking because we know -- outside of that we have very little control.
You know -- part of the challenges you don't have real free markets and health care in the sense the patient is not in charge right and so well with the -- -- -- -- it just spins out of control.
And part of the problem with obamacare is it's gonna restrict our ability to what do these things like health savings accounts put more responsibility in your hands.
In one of the things they should have done is equalize tax treatment.
We get a tax deduction we pay the premiums.
What if you as an individual why should you get a tax deduction so if you wanna go -- in the marketplace she don't like our plan.
Are you aren't equal footing in terms of a tax play so -- -- the whole thing is rigged and rigged in the way that just everyone's a loser.
I think when there is an investment we need to make Israel -- that is really and health IT and like figuring out have how technology.
Can actually be reducing the overall expenses of health care in this country overall.
I know -- investments being made as a part of the stimulus plan and in order to sort of try to prove whether that's going to work well for us but we need to do something.
But I say it's not about you know -- all these factors are just sort of controlling the outside of and I think there's -- -- He's giving giving giving the patient timing giving giving our peoples normally manpower for the -- story the other day -- -- doctors are charging three dollars and sixty cents for a pill.
-- you go to the drug -- yet for sixty cents the patient was paying that bill amount of third party you know they would have tried that kind of absolutely.
