Paul Keckey, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, in an Associated Press report, “In wake of health care law, employers are reviewing their options on benefits for workers“:
I don’t think you are going to hear anybody publicly say ‘We’ve made a decision to drop insurance. What we are hearing in our meetings is, “We don’t want to be the first one to drop benefits, but we would be the fast second.” We are hearing that a lot.”
Sounds familiar. Right, here’s Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) at the Heritage Foundation’s blogger briefing on Tuesday responding to a question about the Obama Administration granting waivers that allow companies to continue their low-cost health care plans:
What they’re trying to do is keep the first big company from saying, “We give up. We’re not offering health care anymore.” Because the first time, the first large company that does that, then the floodgates are going to open. And tons of companies are just going to say, “We’re paying the fine. We’re not offering health care any more. We’re going to pay our employees more money, plus the fine, and let them find out what they want to get in health care themselves.”…
Whichever company that takes the lead will have been forced into the decision by the new health care law.
