We started our business 30+ years ago in our home and it grew beyond our wildest dreams, mostly through my husband’s incredibly hard work! Since the last quarter of 2008 our business has decreased every week to it’s present level of 80% of that last ’08 quarter. We have a niche business that’s manufacturers or provides customized products for other businesses. Many of our customers – businesses – have gone bankrupt, many owing us money, so not only have we lost the owed money, we have lost the income from those business. We have steadily cut back. We “carried” all our employees at personal sacrifice as long as possible, but were forced to lay them off, cutting our employees to 4!
When Obamacare passed our insurance premium skyrocketed. All of our employees immediately quit the insurance and became uninsured. Each employee that dropped raised our premium.Our premium with a $3000 deductible – no coverage of many medications such as acne, allergy, BIRTH CONTROL, Restasis, etc – went to $1,759/month AND we were told it would be raised again! If I told you what they said our premiums were going to be you would think I was lying so I won’t bother. We were forced to drop our insurance, but fortunately we were able to find some insurance with a $10,000 deductible per family member ( hubby, myself, 2 daughters) and added another “accident policy” – so we are covered for a major illness or accident, however, after the Supreme Court idiocy our rates were raised about $70. This despite we are all in excellent health and very rarely used our previous or current insurance – which was not cheap to start with!
We decided if Romney won we would hold to see if businesses felt confident and began growing, therefore, growing our business again. We agreed and told our employees that if Obama won we were shutting down. Today is our last 4 employees last day. FYI, we pay approximately 20% in government taxes & fees per each employee and if they opt for insurance we have that added expense – all on top of their salaries!
Americans have been brainwashed into thinking businesses hate their employees and use them then discard them. Nothing could be further from the truth! We care about our employees financial and personal lives. If our employees are not doing well, neither is our business. Beyond that we care about our employees as people we’ve gotten to know.
Hard times are coming for all Americans. All our former employees are now taking from the “system” rather than contributing to it.
Basically we have been working to pay our employees, taxes, and business expenses. We are no longer going to work for less than free! In reality we have been working to support our fellow Americans who are taking a free ride. That’s over.
My husband and daughters laughingly refer to me as the “Perpetual Optimist”, after an incident when a gloomy, doomy, pessimistic acquaintance screamed at me ,”You are the Perpetual Optimist!” I’m not feeling particularly optimistic today. Hard times are coming.
Well said my friend.
Explain to me the market forces that caused insurance premiums to skyrocket the second Obamacare passed.
Just a few…
No limits on per year or lifetime for those covered. If someone needs a 10 million dollar treatment, it’s covered.
All an employees kids are covered to age 26.
Lists of medical conditions that use to be restricted are now covered.
Lists of medical treatments are now 100% paid by insurance with no copay or deductible.
Thanks SW_Hoosier, although I think that at least a few of your bullet points aren’t necessarily that dire.
Covering a person under the age of 26 likely adds very little to an insurance company’s costs. Young adults are generally healthy, they typically pay lower premiums. Having them get their own insurance vs. staying on their parents insurance seems like it would be a wash at worst for insurance companies.
Likewise the ‘lifetime treatment’ issue. Under the old system, a person who had exhausted their insurance benefits would declare medical bankruptcy and be placed in the medicaid system. The state (i.e., taxpayers) are paying for the costs at that point. We’re paying for their treatment regardless, either in the form of higher taxes or higher overall premiums.
It seems to me, at least according to your list, that the increased premiums are happening because folks buying the insurance are getting increased benefits. Crappy insurance is always going to be cheaper, correct?
Sounds like Mrs. Edwards financial woes are caused by an overall downturn in the economy that her business model wasn’t able to appropriately adjust to, not the dreaded ‘Obamacare’.
I agree.
“Explain to me the market forces that caused insurance premiums to skyrocket the second Obamacare passed.”
Reply:
The legislation is thoroughly explained in more than 2,500 pages. Please start with page one.
I am sure there are many factors in the Edward’s decision, but that does not mean Obama-nomics was not a major factor. A business survives on a slim margin. Any slight change can mean the loss of jobs or the business.
I made a similar choice several years ago and will survive. The truth is that I do not have to participate in Obama’s economy and have no incentive to grow my business under it.
My spouse and I too run a business. We began ours in 1978. We were very “shoe-string” for a while but even in the beginning we found some way to give our employees some type of health related benefits, usually in-house reimbursements.
In time we could afford basic medical insurance which was MUCH less expensive. Our brick wall hit around 2000 and mainly had to do with large insurance company buyouts and mergers and companies going public. That is when the rates grew out of control. At that time about half of our employees were part time and their spouses carried the insurance on them. But we still gave health coverage perks beyond the insurance to these people while carrying the full timers on medical insurance plus those perks. As you say Robin, they were like family.
Three years ago we downsized dramatically. Now our staff is minimal and all part time. My spouse and I are the only “full time” people and with some research and luck we pay only about $2000.00 a month for a family policy with an $8000.00 deductible and we use that deductible up each year due to health problems.
I guess all this is to say that most businesses are like Robin’s family and ours. We like and appreciate our employees and want to do what is right for them. We both obviously gave up profits to carry them though the tough times and would do so again.
However I don’t believe that black clouds are on the horizon as Robin seems to think. And I also have not seen any evidence of insurance premiums increasing since the election. What is coming isn’t perfect, but nothing is. I believe that, from what I see of what the health care act will provide, it will work for many many people and businesses. The unknown is always feared. There will need to be adjustments on many levels and we will need to conform to a big new learning curve. But that has been true of many times in our lives.
We plan to keep on keeping on. There is work we can still do and a need to fulfill in the community. This business puts food on the table even though sometimes we are on a diet. Perhaps the difference between Robin’s take on the election and the ACA lies in the type of business each of us has. Some types have more staying power than others. Other businesses fill certain niches. Or maybe we are just to dumb to know when to stop. Just some thoughts.
Robin, I hope that you and your family find a way to keep on keeping on too. You seem like a good person I wish you well.
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