More rules that are just like Socialism........Business REQUIRED to continue offering Insurance

Once again this Administration is meddling in the private operation of private business. This week the Health and Human Services Committee unveiled a new plan to require all businesses to continue to offer their existing health care plans and not shift a significant portion of the surely skyrocketing cost to the employee. Now that it has become clear the health care bill passed is a social and fiscal nightmare that will bankrupt the country, it is certain they want to be sure it will take evil business down too.

The White House on Monday outlined broad new rules designed to prevent employers from dropping health insurance benefits for their workers or shifting huge new costs onto them.

The regulations empower the administration to revoke the so-called grandfather status of businesses that shift “significant” new burdens onto employees — a considerable penalty that would subject those plans to all the consumer protections in the Democrats’ new healthcare reform law.
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The new rules say that employers can make “routine and modest” adjustments to their premium, deductible and co-pay requirements, Sebelius said, but “significant” cost hikes or benefit cuts would cost them their exempted status. The goal is to ensure that grandfathered plans “don’t use this additional flexibility to take advantage of their customers,” she said.

“We don’t want a massive shift of cost to employees,” Sebelius said.

They don't want a massive shift of cost to the employee, but they have no problem bankrupting the business? Are they unfamiliar with who actually creates the jobs in this country? Legislation like this will only serve to freeze hiring and wages even more than they are already, forcing many businesses to shut down entire segments that will no longer be cost effective to keep open. There is nothing like threatening the wage creators right in the middle of the highest unemployment and economic turmoil in recent history. Yeah, that outta make things better.

Another noteworthy consequence of this move? There is no way that many insurance plans will not loose their "exempt status" because of these new regulations. This will absolutely result in a massive shift of employees to the government option. Keep what you have? Right.

Please do not call this an unintended consequence-they know exactly what they are doing.

Mounting evidence of going "Galt"

I couldn't agree more. The problem is, it couldn't be more depressing:

With the threat of this administration and congress, what is the possible motivation for anyone with ideas and capital to invest their time, talent and money into a risky endeavor? There appears to be none. In fact there appear to be powerful incentives not to invest any time and treasure -- thus an economy with almost zero creative inertia.

For Obama voters, almost zero creative inertia means almost no one is having bright ideas, starting businesses based on them and hiring employees to help share the dream.

Sadly this Administration just doesn't get it. This is exactly why the economy isn't recovering. As a small business owner I would love to make some changes, maybe even hire someone, but with all the unknown variables there is no way that is going to happen. This Administration is not only sucking the life out of me, but with all the turmoil, mounting deficits with no end in sight and a clear desire to grab as much power as possible with little concern for what America wants-well, I and millions of other small business owners will maintain the status quo. I would never give the government the satisfaction of taking what I have worked so hard to achieve. I'll stop doing it before that will happen.