PORTLAND- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a health care reform act that, if it becomes law, would require many small businesses ito insure all employees. The law would make it mandatory to offer insurance, even for part time employees, or else some small businesses could face fines.
The owners of Vancouver Pizza Company say most of their fourteen employees are part time, and being required to pay their health care coverage would be a huge burden on the business.
At Pratt & Larson, a tile manufacturer in Southeast Portland, they pay 100% of their employees' health care costs. But they don't pay for family members of employees. That can be added at the employee's expense. A mandate in the house bill would require businesses to pay 65-percent of the family health care cost. The owners at Pratt and Larson say they may have to rethink their coverage plan as a result.
There are exceptions allowed within the bill, but some small business owners feel its still too rigid to be workable, and too expensive to afford.
But there could be benefits for the small businesses, such as health care "exchanges" that would allow many small business owners to pool employee groups together, to get a better deal on coverage.
Of the business owners we talked with, there seems to be agreement on one thing: There will be changes to the health care legislation before it is ever signed into law.
