Obama Pitches Health Bill to Businesses

(CBS/ AP)  President Barack Obama says small businesses that participate in a proposed government health care plan could save a quarter on their premiums by 2016.

Few people have a bigger stake in health reform than small business owners, Obama said on Thursday, speaking to members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business and small business owners from across the country.

In one national survey, nearly three quarters of small business that don't offer benefits cited high premiums as the reason, the president said. Many small businesses may see their premiums rise about 15 percent over the coming year, and because small businesses pay higher administrative costs than large ones, their employees pay up to 18 percent more in premium.

"The bottom line is that too many Americans like you can't afford to build the kinds of businesses you'd been hoping to build," Mr. Obama said. "And too many budding entrepreneurs can't afford to take a gamble on a smart idea because they can't give up the health insurance they get in their current job. That's bad for our economy, it's bad for our country, and it's what we'll change when health insurance reform becomes law."

The House version of a health care bill would help millions of small businesses cut growing health care costs and was written with small businesses owners in mind, the president said. While the bill requires businesses of a certain size to either provide their workers adequate health care coverage or pay a fee, about 90 percent of small businesses would be exempt from this requirement, he said.

[FreeIgnorance]

Should I worry about this new health care reform? Is it going to work for me..I wonder... http://www.typobounty.com/Funny/Health_Care_Reform3.htm

[merri_b]

I'll trust that you know these numbers to be a fact, but if you've ever lived in Canada and experienced the health care for yourself, don't be to quick to wish it for Americans. I spent 5 of the last ten years up in Toronto and my family and I went to Buffalo for medical services whenever possible. The wait for a simple office visit (sore throat, minor bone break, that sort of things) was generally about a week. Maybe you'd let your child cough and hack until you could see a doctor, but I thought it was worth the trouble to make the drive to the US to see a doc the same day.

[sjc_1]

Health care costs are crushing the country. A U.S. car company has to pay $6000 for each worker, a car maker in Canada pays $600 per worker, because the cost is shared by the WHOLE nation.