News the Party of No probably does not want to hear or acknowledge.
jump the broom with me
Every January for the last 10 years has been a time of anticipation and fear for us. It is the time that we have to renew or find a new carrier for our company's healthcare plan. We've had to change carries 3 times in 10 years, as one company "offers" a little better plan than our current plan and then after the first year ... the lost leader year ... we get slammed with a large increase.
We've had to increase deductables, up the prescription plan from a $10 to $15 co-pay --- we did what we had to do to keep it affordable to our staff and the company who picked up a fair share of the bill. Add that to a 401K match, it's been tough.
For these past ten consectutive years we've faced between a 12% and 21% ANNUAL INCREASES.
Today, we recieved our renewal package from our current carrier. THE PLAN HAS NOT CHANGED ONE BIT. The deductables, co-pays... are exactly what they were last year (2010).
BETTER NEWS, THE PREMIUMS - WELL THEY DID'T INCREASE
ONE
RED
CENT.
Shocked, I can't tell you how shocked I was, NOT ONE RED CENT.
The Healthcare Reform Bill down the road will require ALL Americans to have a health care plan, whether a company or private plan. That's a hell of a guaranteed market coming the way of the insurance industry. And squatting in that nest might spoil the coming boondoggle. It also probably means that there isn't a snowballs chance that the Healthcare Reform bill will be by the Republicans. The insurance company apparently has done the numbers and were just pacifying the Republicans.
Or ... they've made a mistake and I'll get a "never mind" note anyday with a large increase.
For now, this is the first time I've not seen an increase for healthcare coverage and to President Obama, those currently in Congress and those that lost their seats because of their support of "Obama Care", you have my admiration for your courage and for doing the right thing. And to the Republican's, Obama Care hasn't killed any jobs in my company, in fact, I'll be adding 2 more staff because the fear of my healthcare plan going skyhigh was just a fear, fed by lies and misinformation, the Republican way.
The Republican's better get that vote on the record soon, because more and more small business' are going to get some good news in the coming months. And good economic news is bad news for the Republicans.
Then again, I wouldn't bet my life that this good news for small business will every get to the sheeple. Messaging is not a strong point for the Democratic leadership --