Businesses schooled on new health care law
SILIVE.Com - September 21, 2010STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's complicated, confusing and likely to change over time, but the Affordable Care Act is now law, and owners of small businesses must learn how to fulfill its mandate to provide health coverage to workers.
That was the message delivered yesterday to a room of about 100 Staten Island business owners, during a Chamber of Commerce-sponsored breakfast forum at the Hilton Garden Inn, Bloomfield.
During presentations, breakout groups and question-and-answer sessions, expert panelists explained the law and gave clear tips on how to make the legislation feel more like an opportunity than a burden.
"Health care is very very complicated to begin with and it's become even more complicated," said Anthony Ferreri, president and CEO of Staten Island University Hospital, the guest speaker, who presented background on the law and its impact. "That's the challenge of managing change."
Among measures in the law intended to soften its impact on the "little guy" are tax credits, which can reimburse small business owners up to 35 percent of health premiums paid.
"We were there today because we understand this is a huge cost burden for small businesses, and implementation is key," said Patrick Hyland, district director for Rep. Michael McMahon (D- Staten Island/Brooklyn).
Panelist Jaime R. Torres, regional director for the federal Department of Health and Human Services, told heart-wrenching stories about real people who required amputations or died because they lacked access to health care. "The act will not cure the health care crisis; it's a compromise," he said.
Already phased in is the requirement that insurance companies allow adults to keep their grown children on their insurance until the age of 26, and the elimination of a lifetime cap on insurance dollars spent.
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