Monday, September 28, 2009

Healthcare Premiums

So, I've held off being really critical of the Baucus bill for a while, even though it is complete garbage. I am actually, quite certain that one of the insurance industry executives actually wrote it. Cause they win big. Yeah, they have to get rid of their history of recission, and of denying coverage for pre-existing conditions, BUT, with the mandate, and the exclusion of a public option, they stand poised to rake in hundreds of millions in additional revenue.

This article describes quite nicely the net effect of healthcare premiums next year. Even though the economy is rather static, although no longer contractile, healthcare premiums are expected to jump by 10% for workers, and 6% for employers.....

See article HERE

Does anyone really think that this might put more inflationary pressure on small businesses, and result in even more people losing work based coverage. It is truly bad enough that only 38% of small businesses currently offer health benefits.

The real sad part, described in the article, is how workers have seen their premiums triple in just the past 8 years. This is not sustainable long term. While they it may not be wall street brokers, trading default swaps, this represents a real threat to our long term economic vitality.

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