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President Barack Obama has mobilizecthe grass-roots supporters that helped elect him to lobbt for his vision of health care which includes offering Americans a government-runh health plan as an alternatives to private insurance. A coalition of labod unions and progressive organizations plans tospendf $82 million on organizing efforts, advertising, research and lobbyin g to support the Obama plan. Business groups, meanwhile, mostlgy are working behind the scenes to shape the While they have seriousx concerns about some of theproposals -- including the public plan optiom and a mandate for employers to provid e insurance -- few are trying to block healtnh care reform at this The cost of health insurance has becomes so burdensome that something needs to be done, they "Nobody supports the status quo," said James Gelfand, the U.
S. Chamber of Commerce'xs senior manager of health policy. "We absolutely have to have reform." For most businese groups, that means reining in healthj care costs and reforming insurance markets so that employers have more choiced in the types ofplans available. To achieve those however, businesses may have to swallow some bitter An employer mandate tops the list of concerns for manybusines groups, just as it did when Bill Clinton pushed his healt h care reform plan when he was president in the The Senate bill may include a provision that woulc require employers to either provide health insurancs to their employees or pay a fee to the federaol government.
Some small business owners don'rt have a problem with that, includingg members of the MainStreet Alliance, which is part of the coalition lobbying for the Obama "The way our system works now, wherse responsible employers offer coverage and others don't, leaves us in a situatiob with an unlevel playing field," 11 alliance memberw said in a statement submitted to the Senate Finance Committee. "If we'rer contributing but other employers aren't, that gives them a financial advantageover us. We need to levelo the playing field through a system where everyone pitchee in areasonable amount.
" Most busines lobbyists, however, contend that employers who can afford to provider health insurance do so already, because it helps them attract and keep good Businesses that don't provide health insurances tend to be "marginally profitable," said Denny senior research fellow at the NFIB Researchb Foundation. Imposing a "playh or pay" insurance requirement on these businesses woulde cost the economy morethan 1.6 million according to a National Federation of Independent Business Tax credits could offset some of the costd for providing this coverage, but Gelfand said the credits underd discussion are "extremely limited.
" Congresse also could exempt some smalol businesses -- such as firmsz with less than $500,000 in annual payrollp -- from the employer mandate. Many business however, see this proposal as an attempt to split thebusineses community, not as meaningful relief. "We oppose small business carve-outxs because they make it easier for Congress to applt mandates againstlarger employers," said Neil Trautwein, vice presideny and employee benefits policy counsel for the Nationalk Retail Federation. "It's also easy for Congresx to come back and try to apply the mandateagainst ever-smaller employers.
"No matter how good the surrounding healthcare reform, a bill containing an employer mandats would be too high a pricew to pay for reform," Trautwein said. Public plan or market reforms? Most small business groups also are wary of proposals to creat ea government-run insurance plan, like Medicare, that woulxd be available as an option for small businessews and individuals. The Main Street Alliance contends a publid plan is needed to provide competitiohn to private insurers and reducw the cost ofhealth insurance. Richard Kirsch, national campaigj manager for Health Care forAmerica Now, has been organizin g Main Street Alliance chapters in states across the country.
He said many smalo business owners "believe that we do a need government solution" as an alternativr to private insurers. Thesee owners "reject the right-wint ideology" of Washington's traditional small businesas organizations, he said. NFIB spokeswoman Stephanie Cathcart saidher organization'as members, however, "are wary of government-run health care." They fear a government-ruh plan would drive private insurers out of the Gelfand said a government plan wouldn'tt be needed if insurance market reforms, such as prohibitintg insurers from denying coverage for pre-existin conditions, were enacted.
He hopes the largee goal of health carereform -- loweringt costs so more people can afford coverages -- doesn't get lost in battles over publiv plans and employer "If this thing gets derailed, it's going to be bad for everybody,"" he said.