Obama's Undecided on Key Details of Health Care Plan

By his campaign’s own admission, key details of presidential candidate Barack Obama’s health care plan are not known, or have not been decided.

An October 27, 2008 New York Times piece, “Businesses Wary of Details in Obama Health Plan,” reports on the general fuzziness regarding critical elements that relate to small businesses. Namely, what size businesses would be exempt from Obama’s play-or-pay mandate, the amount that small businesses would have to contribute to their employees’ health coverage in order to qualify for the tax credit, and the size and scope of the penalty imposed if businesses do not comply with the mandate.

According to the article, campaign officials pretty much said that those details have not been determined.

As detailed in the article by writer Kevin Sack -- Harvard economist and campaign health care expert David M. Cutler said: “We made a decision even before the plan was rolled out not to decide....It’s not that there’s a decision out there that we’re not telling. It’s literally that we’ve decided not to decide.”

Sounds like a “present” vote to me.

Earlier in the campaign, when I first reported on the candidates’ positions on key small business issues using the SBE Council side-by-side issue grid, there was no mention of an exemption for “very small businesses” in the Obama health care plan. This new exemption – which is a welcome sign for small businesses -- only appeared recently. (And SBE Council has updated the grid to reflect that new position.)

[To view the issue grid, please visit: http://www.sbecouncil.org/uploads/Candidate Side by Side Oct 20 Update[1].pdf]

Still, if small business voters and their workforce are being asked to judge the candidates on their health care plans, they need these details not yet decided upon by the campaign. These details are the crucial issues that will drive their support or opposition to Obama’s stand on health care reform.

As the New York Times article outlines, for example, will the employers be socked with financial penalties that amount to 3 percent, 4 percent or 6 percent of total payroll if they can’t afford to buy health insurance?

And, as I have noted and asked previously:

What is a “very small business” exempt from the play-or-pay payroll tax? A self-employed enterprise of one? Or, a business with five, ten or fewer employees?

And, to qualify for the tax credit, how much will small businesses have to contribute to their employees’ health plan – all of it, 75 percent? And, what constitutes a “quality” health care plan, which also seems to be a factor in accessing the tax credit?

[To read the New York Times piece, please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/us/politics/27healthcare.html?th&emc=th]

Small business voters should demand specifics. After all, if the next Administration comes after you to collect its payroll tax penalty for health care, do you think “deciding not to decide” on whether your business will offer health care for its workforce will be an acceptable excuse for not complying with the play-or-pay law?

Karen Kerrigan