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August 15, 2007

Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley Chambers of Commerce Say “No” To Major Tax Payroll Tax Increase

Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley Chambers of Commerce opposes the Legislature’s proposal to fix our broken healthcare system. The proposed fix, AB 8, creates a government-run healthcare system for employees who do not receive healthcare from their employers. The bill attempts to fix our broken healthcare system almost exclusively by a payroll tax on all employers who do not spend a certain level of funding on employee healthcare.
 

Click here to take action on AB 8.

“Temecula Valley businesses provide healthcare coverage to thousands of workers and their dependents,” stated Alice Sullivan, President and CEO of the Temecula Valley Chamber. “We support the goal of increasing healthcare coverage to more people by increasing insurance affordability - without undermining our economy. Unfortunately, AB 8 does not meet this goal,” continued Sullivan.

Early calculations indicate the new tax might not raise the required revenues needed to provide the benefits as indicated in the proposed new law. AB 8 imposes a new payroll tax of 7.5 percent on employers who do not currently spend that much on healthcare. Furthermore, an appointed volunteer board of bureaucrats would be given the right to increase the healthcare payroll tax, as needed, in order to cover any underestimated costs.

A 7.5 percent tax on the payrolls of low-wage employers will not provide enough revenue to purchase the average HMO plans envisioned in the legislation; much more revenue will be needed. And since health care cost inflation grows more rapidly than payroll, even more taxes will be needed in the future as the gap between the costs of the new program and collected revenues only widens.

Furthermore, rather than seek to contain costs and address access through increased affordability, AB 8 simply imposes an illegal tax on employers who can’t afford to purchase health insurance. Labeling this new health care tax a “fee” that can be approved by a simple legislative majority violates the will of the people, who amended our state constitution to require a two-thirds vote for tax increases when they passed Proposition 13.
 

July 16, 2007

Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley Chambers of Commerce Increase Its Role in Health Care Reform Discussions
 

The Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley Chambers of Commerce are reviewing the escalating costs of the health care system in California.  In mid-June 2007 the three chambers joined with the California Small Business Health Coalition to address the issue of affordability in our health care system. 

“The affordability of health care is eroding the ability of California families and small businesses to afford health insurance.  Premiums continue to increase dramatically, causing an unsustainable burden for California small businesses and consumers,” stated Kim Cousins, President and CEO of the Chamber.

“Today, the average cost of family coverage is over $10,000 annually, with the average business paying for 72% of those costs.  With costs out of control, more and more families are losing their health insurance coverage,” stated Rex Oliver, President and CEO of the Murrieta Chamber of Commerce.

While some people point to uninsured families as proof of a health care crisis, the uninsured is merely a symptom of the true problem – out of control health care costs.  Unless our broken health care system is fixed, costs will continue to rise and erode the ability for small businesses to provide access to health care for their employees and for individuals to attain coverage.

Here are the top three principles of the coalition:

First Step – Address Out-of-Control Costs in the Health Care System

Significant annual percentage increases for the cost of health care premiums in California only serve to highlight that our system is broken.  California cannot afford to forget the lessons learned from the once out-of-control worker's compensation system that was responsible for damaging the state’s business economy.

No Employer Mandate

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, an employer mandate will only result in lower wages, layoffs, and the continued erosion of the state’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. An employer mandate will not provide universal health care coverage to almost 2/3rds of the 6 million uninsured individuals in California.  While several proposals are already being discussed individual accountability and respect for free market decisions that would help contain costs should be a part of any solution.   

A Uniform and Broad-Based Funding Mechanism/Do Not Segment Employers Based on Size

Any funding mechanism for a reformed health system should be uniform and broad-based.  Small businesses and labor-intensive companies are disproportionally impacted when funding is based on a business’ size or employment levels.  Segmenting the industry creates harmful market distortions that will cause employers to artificially control employment levels to stay under limits and reclassify positions from full-time to part-time.  This will surely stifle small business growth in California.

April 15, 2007

Regional Business Community Working to Reduce Health Care Costs
 

The Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley chambers of commerce are working with Corona-area Assemblymember Todd Spitzer and the Corona Chamber of Commerce to offer solutions to our state’s health care crisis.

The rising costs of health care in California are making it difficult for businesses, especially small business, to afford to offer health care benefits to employees and their dependents. It is estimated that one out of every five Californians are without health insurance.

“We are committed to offering reasonable solutions to the health care crisis,” stated Dennis Frank, Chair of the Southwest California Legislative Council (SWCLC). “Mandating new taxes on business is not the best solution. There are other ways we can cut health care costs,” Frank continued.

The SWCLC is seeking the support of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) to review their guidelines and practices concerning plans and construction applications for health care facilities in California. When a hospital construction project is submitted to OSHPD for approval, the plans and construction application is reviewed by OSHPD staff to ensure that both are complete. If it is determined that the plans and the construction application is complete, both enter into a queue for a subsequent array of reviews. After the reviews are complete, OSHPD will usually return the plans to the hospital architect, often requesting corrections.

The corrected plans are then sent back into OSHPD for a “back-check.” If the plans are then deemed acceptable by OSHPD, the process is complete. If there are still problems with the plans, they are again sent back to the hospital’s architect for further corrections until OSHPD agrees that the plans meet the building code requirements.

The SWCLC  is concerned that the fees associated with the review process are enormous and review times are protracted and prolonged. Both the fees and the inordinately excessive review times drive up project costs, ultimately impacting a rise in health care costs for employees and employers, and ultimately the patient. Furthermore, consumers are impacted by delays in hospital services caused by the excessive review times.

“We are committed to working with OSHPD to streamline project timelines and costs,” stated Frank. “We look forward to working with OSHPD in the coming months on this important issue.”
 

March 3, 2007

Business Community Takes a Stand on Health Care Reform

The Governor and other leaders have proposed several reforms to the state’s health care crisis. These proposals will be debated in the state capitol in the coming months. The Southwest California Legislative Council (SWCLC) will establish its position on a specific health care reform plan in the coming months.

The following defines the SWCLC current position is to support reforms that:

- Preserves the current voluntary employer-provided health coverage system;
- Contains the costs of premiums;
- Conforms to federal law on health savings accounts;
- Allows employers to offer more affordable benefit plans that allow choices in coverage;
- Prevents cost shifting from government-provided programs to the private sector;
- Curbs the expansion of litigation in the health care system, and;
- Supports the wellness and disease management education programs.

“We want our business community to know the Temecula Valley, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore Valley chambers of commerce are actively tracking all health care reform proposals in the state legislature,” stated Dennis Frank, Chair of the SWCLC. “We are also dedicated to protecting businesses impacted by any health care reform plan,” continued Frank.
 

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