The Baucus Healthcare Plan: What Small-Business Owners Need to Know

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I have a very small business, me and sometimes one employee. I can barely scrape by. I would love to have a full time employee and offer health benefits but can't. I have to pay out over $14,000 per year for a family plan that is horrible. There is only really one plan available to us, and it sucks! Almost none of the local doctors even are part of the network. If I made less money I wouldn't be able to pay the rent but we could get Family Health Plus.
You must love this country. If you try to do the right thing you get screwed and taxed to death. Lie, cheap, hide income, steal, swindle investors and open a health insurance company and live the good live.
In the next 10 years I will pay over $250,000.00 for health, life, disability, auto, liability, unemployment, workmans comp insurance, etc. If the next 10 years are anything like the last 10 years it will be for almost nothing. Please explain to me how this is fair?

Luke of NY 6:10PM October 05, 2009

I am for A trigger on the tax to business’s encase they do not do the right thing,
Of course they will spend more getting out of doing the right thing than what they actually need to pay for health care.
And they should have to pay health care for part time workers as well. Lets not give them another way out like last time. If they cannot give a little back they can stay small So others can start a small business and do better. A city can only handle so many businesses, Why do you think every small town does not have a wall mart superstore or 6 or 7 large department stores because small towns cannot support that many.
Small is good big is greed. Lets run the big businesses out of business so more small shops can start up.
Don D. Brock

Don D. Brock of AZ 10:42PM October 04, 2009

I'm worried about this "excise tax" on "gold-plated cadillac" policies if premiums are the only criteria for deciding what's a cadillac policy. My latest health insurance quote for me alone is about $1200/month, for a total of $14400/year. This is not a "gold-plated cadillac" policy. I am a cancer survivor and I am very lucky to get any health insurance at all in the individual market. The problem with this excise tax on premiums is, it penalizes people like me through no fault of our own. (Despite what the President says, I am proof that cancer is not something you can prevent with a healthy lifestyle.) So under this legislation, is my effective premium going to be $14400 + (35% of (14400-8000) or $2240) + self employment tax (15.3% or $2546) = $19,186/year? This policy doesn't cover a lot of my yearly medical expenses, either, and I have to pay for those completely post-tax. The irony is, far more was paid to health insurance companies by me or for me than my cancer treatments ever cost.

Kristin of VA 11:02PM September 28, 2009

We have one employee in a gold plated "cadillac" and next year's increase will get two more in cadillacs. Our "Cadillac" comes with a $3,000 deductible.

Scott of VA 4:35PM September 28, 2009

As a microbusiness own with only 3 employees and a yearly salary average of $50,000 I have to agree with Susan of MN. I cannot afford health insurance premiums now and the current plan will not help me do so in the future. The $40,000 salary cap is too limiting. In order to keep decent, well-trained employees you have to pay a little better than minimum wage and this proposal prevents that option.

Anita of AZ 2:35PM September 28, 2009

The tax credit assumes that all small businesses pay low wages. Average of $40K salary is very low and limits this credit to only those with lot of low paying jobs. How about the small companies that pay decent wages to attract the talent but yet could not afford the health insurance?
Small accounting firms, consulting firms and high tech firms for example

Susan of MN 2:17PM September 28, 2009

A tax credit is helpful to a profitable business. How does it affect a start-up business that may not turn a profit the first few years in business. In my view, tax credits will not help many businesses that are building equity but not turning a profit.

Bill of OH 1:33PM September 28, 2009

This is typical of the way Congress is crafting health care legislation -- a politically horse-traded plan that has winners and losers based on which lobbyists have the attention of the people putting the plan together, all of them wrangling for benefits for one group at the expense of another group. This is happening because there is no way to raise enough money to be fair and give everyone the same benefits due to the uncontrolled cost of premiums and health care. And that is because both Democrats and Republicans refused to put single payer on the table. Once you read through the details, you should realize that the "public option" is a toothless, straw man option. The primary discussion on television, newspapers and the Internet has been wasted on arguments about public option versus no public option. It ignores the fact that a single payer system doesn't have to be government run. The influential talk show hosts and journalists,both liberal and conservative, have failed to inform the public about the way single payer solves most of the cost and financial problems that the plans currently before Congress can not solve. Liberals are the most responsible for this result since they claimed to be the champions of single payer. They blew the chances for single payer by their arrogant insistence on a government run system.

john Scope of TX 2:07PM September 26, 2009