Business Owners Express Fear over Employer Mandate: PIRG says government will save them

Posted by Marc Kilmer in Health Care, Maryland on Aug 13th, 2009 | no responses

Maryland business owners are expressing concern over the proposed federal mandate that larger businesses provide health insurance:

“That won’t help small businesses,” said Doug Hillmuth, co-owner of Hillmuth Certified Automotive, which has shops in Gaithersburg, Clarksville and Columbia and provides medical insurance to some 24 employees. “Small businesses will have to make up those costs somewhere. It will drive prices up.”

Placing a mandate on employers could cause businesses to lose control of costs, said Ronald Wineholt, vice president of government affairs for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. “We support health care reform. A lot needs to be done.”

Never fear, says Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG). The “government option” health insurance program would lower costs by increasing competition:

But having the government compete with private insurers will reduce national insurance costs by at least $230 billion, according to a report released last week by the Maryland Public Interest Research Group. “This option would expand consumer choice, but it would also help bring down costs by forcing private insurers to be more competitive,” the report says.

More savings can be realized through streamlining medical billing, adopting electronic medical records and making care more effective, according to the report. The state of Maryland alone would save at least $54 billion over the next decade under such reforms, the report says.

MPIRG praising competition? I guess that’s because it’s government doing the “competing.” I don’t remember MPIRG ever trying to reduce regulation or supporting other efforts to make the state’s individual and small group market more competitive.