With the world facing an economic crisis, many people are being laid off from work, and many companies are having to cut benefits for their employees so that they do not have to lay-off people. But people need health insurance, and the current presidential administration pushed a health care reform bill through Congress so that every American could have health coverage. While health care coverage for all sounds good on paper, many businesses are worried about the costs to keep every employee insured.
First of all, businesses would be required to provide health benefits for all of their employees. Even though some of the cost is paid by the employee, the company still pays a large portion of the health insurance price for its employees. Even though Congress promised that its health plan wouldn’t raise health insurance, cost are going up for all health insurance. This means that companies will be looking to cut costs in other ways—lay-offs, salary reductions, etc. Not good for a struggling economy.
Secondly, since all companies will be required to pay for health care coverage, they refuse to provide dental, vision, or even paid time off as benefits. This could mean employees would be footing the bill for eyeglasses, dental cleanings, even oral surgeries because companies are being forced to pay for health care coverage for everyone. Even paid time off could be affected, employers may not be able to afford paying an employee’s salary when that employee takes a day off. This could mean companies lose good employees to other businesses willing and able to pay for better benefits.
While health care benefits for all sounds good, it could mean that companies must reduce costs to pay for the governments new plan. Many companies may be forced to add to the economic problems because of the universal health care plan.