Here’s the likely impact of Obamacare on our small business, as well as others that do what we do. For those who may not know, the Department of Labor defines part-time workers as those scheduled less than 30 hours a week. Also, while initially Obamacare affects businesses with 50 or more employees, its next wave would be to include businesses with 15 or more. If we're still in business by then, hopefully that’s us.
Here’s a simple definition of Obamacare, and how it affects Leaps’n Bounds in practical terms:
“Businesses with 50 or more employees will have a choice beginning in 2014: they can sponsor a health plan for 100% of their workers (even those signed up for government-subsidized health insurance) or pay $750 per worker in penalties to the federal government. A business might opt to take the penalty and do away with health insurance. Paying the annual penalty might be cheaper. So that would leave the employees uninsured, and they would have to go to state health plan exchanges to buy health coverage that could be more expensive.”
http://www.billlosey.com/articles/how-will-obamacare-affect-your-small-business.php
We have set our small business up to serve parents 12 hours every weekday, only closing 6 holidays so that parents can provide for their families. One way we could eliminate this problem with our 12 hour business model would be to do 6 hour shifts – do a shift change at noon when the children are down for their naps, and employ a morning teacher and an afternoon teacher. That would also eliminate our current need to add staff to cover breaks.
While our mission is to attract full-time, professional staff, it appears the the Obama plan may render that plan unsustainable. That's sad.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
My first experience with Obamacare...
I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
My 81-year-old mother-in-law was in severe pain today. She saw her in-network Doctor for her symptoms. He prescribed a medication to relieve the problem, and called in the prescription to our nearby pharmacy.
When I went to fill the prescription, I was informed that it was not covered by her insurance - the same insurance that had covered the medication not long ago. The reason is what prompted this blog entry: according to the Pharmacist, she was not eligible for insurance coverage because she was over the age of 60. Had she been younger, the medication would have been covered.
No doubt this extends to other medications, as well as healthcare procedures, which were previously available to her. It may also explain why an increasing number of healthcare providers no longer take patients that are covered by programs like Medicare.
How did we vote this into being? And how can we continue to vote in support of this type of healthcare system? It's been 35 years since I first saw "Logan's Run" - an Oscar-nominated movie where an idyllic society has determined that life ends at 30, for the convenience of those who remain.
Hippocrates (known as the “Father of Medicine”) is famous for his Hippocratic Oath, known as one of the oldest binding documents and held sacred by physicians: to treat the ill to the best of one's ability, to preserve a patient's privacy, to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on. I guess we have decided to replace it with a some version of a Hypocritical Oath: elected officials promoting or administering virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, and so forth that they do not actually possess or are guilty of violating.
I guess that makes sense, considering who voted for such policy. Either politicians who will not rely on Obamacare, or young people who do not yet need it. One thing is certain; we will all get older, and we will all need competent healthcare at points in our lives.
I hope there are still competent Doctors and facilities left when (I and) my children will need them.
My 81-year-old mother-in-law was in severe pain today. She saw her in-network Doctor for her symptoms. He prescribed a medication to relieve the problem, and called in the prescription to our nearby pharmacy.
When I went to fill the prescription, I was informed that it was not covered by her insurance - the same insurance that had covered the medication not long ago. The reason is what prompted this blog entry: according to the Pharmacist, she was not eligible for insurance coverage because she was over the age of 60. Had she been younger, the medication would have been covered.
No doubt this extends to other medications, as well as healthcare procedures, which were previously available to her. It may also explain why an increasing number of healthcare providers no longer take patients that are covered by programs like Medicare.
How did we vote this into being? And how can we continue to vote in support of this type of healthcare system? It's been 35 years since I first saw "Logan's Run" - an Oscar-nominated movie where an idyllic society has determined that life ends at 30, for the convenience of those who remain.
Hippocrates (known as the “Father of Medicine”) is famous for his Hippocratic Oath, known as one of the oldest binding documents and held sacred by physicians: to treat the ill to the best of one's ability, to preserve a patient's privacy, to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation, and so on. I guess we have decided to replace it with a some version of a Hypocritical Oath: elected officials promoting or administering virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, and so forth that they do not actually possess or are guilty of violating.
I guess that makes sense, considering who voted for such policy. Either politicians who will not rely on Obamacare, or young people who do not yet need it. One thing is certain; we will all get older, and we will all need competent healthcare at points in our lives.
I hope there are still competent Doctors and facilities left when (I and) my children will need them.
Monday, November 12, 2012
We can vote ourselves money...
Our debt is making us a second-rate nation. Due to our national debt, we will pay over $5 trillion dollars *in just interest* over the next 10 years on the country's debt. That's about $50,000 for each American that voted in last Tuesday's election.
It's time for 100% of us to wake up - and realize that just raising the taxes on the people some consider to be too wealthy won't pay that interest, let alone put a dent in the PRINCIPAL. You can't dig your way out of a hole, any more than you can spend your way out of a debt...
Ben Franklin famously said: "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
It doesn't matter how you feel about the now famous 47% that Romney's comment brought to the fore - they have found out they can vote themselves money. That percentage won't decrease until we get serious about our debt. That means a government that protects our national security interests, but not one that tries to play Robin Hood.
It's time for 100% of us to wake up - and realize that just raising the taxes on the people some consider to be too wealthy won't pay that interest, let alone put a dent in the PRINCIPAL. You can't dig your way out of a hole, any more than you can spend your way out of a debt...
Ben Franklin famously said: "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
It doesn't matter how you feel about the now famous 47% that Romney's comment brought to the fore - they have found out they can vote themselves money. That percentage won't decrease until we get serious about our debt. That means a government that protects our national security interests, but not one that tries to play Robin Hood.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Where's the Money Tree?
Where's the money tree? Those who are honest with themselves realize the truth - there is none.
It wouldn't be such a bad idea for those who won (re)election yesterday to start their upcoming term reading "Financial Peace" (Dave Ramsey) and make attacking the government debt snowball (federal, state, local) their foremost priority before proposing so many new programs that rely on said "money tree".
And yes, many of Mitt's famous 47% believe in the money tree - and that "the tree" consists of those individuals who have pursued the American Dream and have built more wealth. More reading recommendations - read any of Stephen Covey's "7 Habits". Let's keep it simple: Beware the pursuit of GOLDEN EGGS without considering THE GOOSE.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome. The United States will never be the well-respected country we like to think we are until we respect where the money comes from.
It wouldn't be such a bad idea for those who won (re)election yesterday to start their upcoming term reading "Financial Peace" (Dave Ramsey) and make attacking the government debt snowball (federal, state, local) their foremost priority before proposing so many new programs that rely on said "money tree".
And yes, many of Mitt's famous 47% believe in the money tree - and that "the tree" consists of those individuals who have pursued the American Dream and have built more wealth. More reading recommendations - read any of Stephen Covey's "7 Habits". Let's keep it simple: Beware the pursuit of GOLDEN EGGS without considering THE GOOSE.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome. The United States will never be the well-respected country we like to think we are until we respect where the money comes from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)