WASHINGTON – With the Senate’s approval of its health-care reform bill on Christmas Eve, some provisions have companies bracing themselves for higher health-care costs, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Lobbyists are already gearing up to push for business-friendly modifications as versions of the bill passed by both the House and Senate head for reconciliation. Among other business groups, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is asking for Congress to start over from scratch with the overhaul bills.
Companies are concerned that to cover an additional millions of Americans will increase the cost to employers. With how the House and Senate bills will be meshed together still up in the air, businesses are having a hard time seeing how the final legislation will impact them.
“We’re still committed to the notion that health reform can be done right, but I know of no company that is warmly embracing what is in either the House or Senate bills,” said Paul Dennett, a top health-care adviser to the American Benefits Council.
Among other things, retailers want a longer time period before new workers would be able to receive company-sponsored health benefits. Also, companies are worried about what new taxes and fees will be levied to fund expanded health care coverage, which would increase premiums for small businesses especially.
The Senate measure “will not only fail to reduce and control the constantly climbing health-care costs small-business owners face, but it will result in new and greater costs on their business,” said Dan Danner, CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business.
For a comparison of the House and Senate health care bills, see last week’s NACS Daily.
For more on the health-care debate, check out the following NACS resources: