If Obamacare Wins, Workers Lose

Conn Carroll / September 17, 2009

Reuters reports today:

If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey.

Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower salaries or cut jobs, the survey from professional services firm Towers Perrin said on Thursday.

Eighty-seven percent of employers said they were very likely or likely to cut benefits if reform leads to higher costs. Only 11 percent said they would accept lower profits.

This study confirms what conservatives have been saying about Obamacare from the beginning: If you mandate coverage on employers or add taxes to the coverage the offer, it simply comes out of the hide of employees.

All five bills in Congress (three in the House and two in the Senate) contain employer mandates or “pay or play” provisions which require employers to offer health insurance to their employees or pay a tax/fiine to the federal government. Even the left is beginning to recognize that these provisions are job/economy killers and are calling the Baucus “free rider” and other tax provisions the MaxTax. (more…)