Fix Health Care Policy

Photo: Mike Kemp/Tetra Images/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 11 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

The Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit was intended to encourage employers to offer health insurance to their employees by partially offsetting the cost.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Small Employer Tax Credit would cost the federal government $37 billion over 10 years.

In 2012, the CBO updated its estimate, projecting the credit would cost $23 billion over 10 years.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: CBO, higher costs, ObamaCare, small business, surprises, tax credit

Will more small businesses be able to offer their workers health coverage under Obamacare? The legislation creates a tax credit to encourage just that. But a new report from The Commonwealth Fund says it probably won’t help much.

Though small firms eligible for some level of the tax credit employ approximately 16.6 million employees, the report estimates that businesses that might actually take advantage of the credit employ only 3.4 million workers. Moreover, a large portion of those 3.4 million already receive health insurance through their job.

The Washington Post’s N.C. Aizenman notes: “Those firms that do not offer coverage are unlikely to consider the tax breaks enough of a financial incentive to start doing so.” (more…)

Tags: higher health care costs, ObamaCare, Side Effects, small businesses, tax credit, The Commonwealth Fund

One of the great promises of Obamacare, you’ll recall, was that it would give folks working in small businesses better access to affordable care. “It works for small business owners,” Nancy Pelosi announced, “providing access to affordable group rates and creating a tax credit for them to help them insure their employees.” This sounded like it would be a huge help, because small firms struggle to find affordable coverage for their workers.

Unfortunately, the Obamacare small-business tax credit just doesn’t get the job done, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s largest small-business advocacy group. NFIB reports that provisions aimed at expanding small-business-sponsored coverage will have little real impact—though their cost will be all too real. (more…)

Tags: Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Bob Graboyes, NFIB, ObamaCare, Side Effects, small businesses, tax credit