We own a small business in Minnesota and for years have covered 100 percent of health care premium costs through Medica for a few employees. We received a letter that our policy is no longer available after Jan. 1. We had large deductibles — $5,950 each and $9,900 for a family that paid 100 percent after the family maximum was reached. High deductibles kept our cost lower per month, and the coverage was statewide — we had multiple choices of locations and doctors. Old cost: $2,085.00 per month.
Now, here's reality of the Affordable Care Act that small businesses are dealing with: The current offer has the same deductibles as before, with 50 percent paid after a family reaches the maximum. Our network coverage has been scaled way back, and many doctors will not be in the new network. Cost: $3,850 per month. That is an increase of $1,765 per month, or $21,180 per year!
Multiply this by millions of small-business owners with millions of employees, and what do you think the result will be on our economy?
