Pest Management Professional, September 2012

100 percent coverage for preventive care thats a good thing Joe Wilson Ginsburg Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor was unexpected and unless this falls election brings a change in the political balance and a legislative repeal of the law it will become effective in 2014 Asked specifically about the U S Supreme Court decision Wilson says John Roberts was viewed as a traitor by the conservatives but the fact of the matter is he hit the nail on the head President Obama has been telling us all along that it was not a tax Chief Justice Roberts came out and said it is a tax and he federal government can no longer duck behind that big tree called the Commerce Act to force people to buy things they dont want to buy The federal government has been telling us what kind of light bulbs we can screw into our sockets what kind of toilets we can put in our bathrooms and on and on Wilson adds So I think Roberts helped us all by saying to Congress You cant use the Commerce Act to force things down peoples throats Kleinbard Bell Breckers Pritchard also points out employers will have to wait and see whether the potentially significant increases in health care premiums forecasted by some economists will actually occur and whether there will be options for employees to share some of the costs perhaps through co pays and their own contributions Business impact The health care bill forces businesses to provide health insurance regardless of whether they can afford it Beginning in 2014 employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer coverage or pay a 2000 fine per employee if just one employee receives a subsidy to purchase insurance through newly created state health insurance Continued on page 26 COVER STORY Continued from page 22 Guardians Chick goes for information on dealing with new insurance requirements to both its brokers and insurance company He reports no problems such as Wilson mentions but does point out We dont know yet just what the options are for the company The Supreme Courts view According to Eric Pritchard a partner in the Philadelphia based law firm of Kleinbard Bell Brecker LLP Opponents of the law including 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses argued that the individual mandate was an unconstitutional attempt by Congress to compel citizens to purchase insurance The court agreed as Pritchard pointed out by a slim majority that the individual mandate was in fact unconstitutional under the Constitutions Commerce Clause However the penalty assessed against those who failed to obtain the required insurance might reasonably be characterized as a tax the levying of which does fall within Joe Wilson owner and CEO of PermaTreat Pest Control served on Virginias reform group Congress constitutional taxing powers In this case however wrote U S Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in delivering the majority opinion it is reasonable to construe what Congress has done as increasing taxes on those who have a certain amount of income but choose to go without health insurance Such legislation is within Congress power to tax The federal government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance The federal government does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance he later explained Roberts joining with the more liberal members of the U S Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer Ruth Bader Steps to take The U S Chamber of Commerce recommends businesses consider taking several actions including the following Support repeal of the most onerous provisions of the Patient Protection and Afordable Care Act PPACA including many new mandates and taxes on businesses and individuals Push back through written comments on regulations implementing the Act Enact meaningful medical liability reform supporting health courts caps on punitive damages and eliminating frivolous lawsuits Expand access to care strengthening employersponsored health insurance by expanding its availability and afordability for every worker Support consumer focused health care making accountbased plans more attractive to small businesses by increasing fexibility and improving the transparency of cost and quality information Realign reimbursement mechanisms to reward quality instead of quantity 24 September 2012 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net