Massachusetts has made a concerted effort in the last few years to rein in health care costs for small businesses. But new federal regulations written to implement the Affordable Care Act threaten to undercut those efforts — and saddle thousands of Bay State businesses with big increases in premiums.
State law currently allows insurers to consider a range of factors that often reduce premiums for small firms. But under the new federal regulations, most of those rating factors will no longer be allowed. For example, insurers won’t be able to consider the risks inherent to the industry a company is in, or whether the company has a wellness program, or how many employees it has, or what percentage of them participate in its health plan. Those regulations will also end discounts for small businesses that have joined health-insurance-purchasing cooperatives. When the law allowing those cooperatives passed in 2010, Governor Patrick hailed it as an important step in addressing health care costs for small firms.
Comments
How ironic that the Affordable Care Act will make rates increase.
Yes...another group needing an exception to the radical rules being brought by Obamacare. First it was the unions, then other political favorites began to seek exceptions. If you have the right political connections, you can get this. Obamacare is seeping into our society, and it is going to get very ugly.
"We need to pass the bill so you can find out what's in it" Nancy Pelosi.
and boy are we finding out..............thanks Nancy.
Ridiculous and mistaken. This bill will lower the cost of healthcare. Fear is the most common response from the un informed.
Right, click your heels three times and say "there's no place like home, there's no place like home......"
Before you state that the Law will lower the cost of healthcare, perhaps you should read the bill. See my link below. In particular note how many times the bill says "the Secretary of the HHS SHALL..or the Secretary WILL SEEK TO.. These phrases appear 1000 times. Also look at the regulations concerning the Medicaid health care Exchanges.
The Boston Globe wants an ObamaCare WAIVER?? After telling us how good it was an ramming it down our throats?
By the way, do you bloggers want to see what's in the bill?
Here's a link to the Act.
The Affordable care Act 2209 pages PDF
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/authorities/patient-protection.pdf
I guess this Obamacare thing isn't so wonderful afterall.
What a surprise--who'd-a-thunk it?