Courtesy of Mish.
Yesterday I received an email from a California Business Owner with 600 employees. Let’s tune in to how Obamacare affected him, as well as his employees.
Dear Mish
My company, based in California, employs 600. We used to insure about 250 of our employees. The rest opted out. The company paid 50% of their premiums for about $750,000/yr.
Under Obamacare, no one can opt out without penalty, and the rates are double or triple, depending upon the plan. Our 750k insurance for 250 employees is going to $2 million per year for 600 employees.
By mandate, we have to pay 91.5% of the premium or more up from the 50% we used to pay.
Our employees share of the premium goes from $7/week for the cheapest plan to $30/week. 95% of my employees were on that plan. Remember, we used to pay 50% now we pay 91.5% and the premiums still go up that much!!
The cheapest plan now has a deductible of $6350! Before it was $150. Employees making $9 to $10/hr, have to pay $30/wk and have a $6350 deductible!
They can’t afford that to be sure. Obamacare will kill their propensity to seek medical care. More money for less care? How does that help them?
Here is the craziest part. Employees who qualify for mediCAL (the California version of Medicare), which is most of my employees, will automatically be enrolled in the Federal SNAP program. They cannot opt out. They cannot decline. They will be automatically enrolled in the Federal food stamp program based upon their level of Obamacare qualification. Remember, these people work full time, living in a small town in California. They are not seeking assistance. It all seems like a joke. How can this be the new system?
Pelosi, pass the bill to find out what’s in it? Surprise! You’ve annihilated the working class.
California Business Owner
In a followup email, I asked what would happen if he dropped coverage altogether. Here is his reply …
Our calculus suggests that the penalties could be worse because it is per employee per year. There are different kinds of penalties too. One for not offering a qualifying plan and one for when an employee signs up for an exchange in the absence of a plan at work. However, more importantly than the money is the unions.
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