What Obama’s New Health Care Plan Means for Small Businesses
The White House, in advance of a televised summit meeting aimed at reviving revive stalled health care legislation, posted a proposal this morning that is meant to “bridge the differences,” in the words of Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director, between the House and the Senate bills. The White House basically follows the Senate bill, except that in a handful of key instances it weighs in with a Solomonic compromise. “We view this as the opening bid for the health meeting” that will be televised live this Thursday, said Mr. Pfeiffer.
One of those areas is employer responsibility. Recall that in the Senate bill, any firm with more than 50 full-time employees that did not offer insurance would have to pay a $750 penalty multiplied by the number of full-time employees should even one of those employees choose to rely on a public subsidy to buy individual insurance. (The new law would require almost everyone to buy insurance.)
