A Test For Insurace Mandates - Small Businesses Picking Up The Tab
Reliable Caregivers and its president Linda Leary make preparations in San Francisco for new health care laws. The new laws require people like Linda to set aside funds to cover the costs of area businesses that offer health coverage for their employees. Leary’s 150 employees will now have health care coverage thanks to a $2 per hour increase in the rates her patients pay starting in February 2008. But Leary thinks competing with other midsized companies further south who don’t have these same costs could pose a problem.
The city’s new law, which went into effect January 9, has experienced a round of legal challenges in the form of appeals. These appeals may not be fully decided until April 2008. In the meantime, local San Francisco businesses of a certain size are required to comply with the new law as of the January 9th date. The minimum amount of money the city requires to cover the health care costs is due by April 30, and businesses that already provide coverage to their workers are to complete paperwork proving that they are in compliance.
There are some options that companies have in paying the costs such as purchasing private health care coverage, or paying money to the city directly giving people access to local services and clinics within the San Francisco area. Employees are eligible for coverage after an initial 90-day term as long as they work at least ten hours per week.
Employers having to foot the bill for the new mandate say they want the best care possible for the dollar amount they are paying but also say that cutting employee wages is an optional way of covering those costs. Some businesses such as restaurants and cafes are adding surcharges to their menus to cover the mandate’s costs.
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