[url]http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20100505_U_S__to_give_firms__5B_for_retiree_health_care.html[/url]
[release]U.S. companies will get $5 billion from the federal government to help pay for retiree health insurance, a benefit of the health-care overhaul that will offset some of the millions of dollars in costs employers such as Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co. announced after the law's signing.
President Obama spoke about the program Tuesday at an appearance before the Business Council. Companies will be able to start tapping the funds June 1: The money is meant for early retirees older than age 55 who aren't eligible yet for Medicare, according to a White House fact sheet describing the program.
"A lot of the companies [represented] in this room can apply for this assistance starting in June," Obama said to the Business Council. "This is going to be a welcome reform for many businesses who are trying to provide assistance for retirees."
Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, said in March that the health-care law would cost it $100 million, and it took a charge to earnings. Farm-machinery maker Deere & Co., of Moline, Ill., said the law would cost it $150 million. The companies pointed to an overhaul provision that ended a tax break for providing drug coverage to retirees. Many other major companies, including AT&T, Valero Energy, and AK Steel, also have announced charges prompted by the new law.
The program announced by Obama is likely to offset some of those charges.
Towers Watson & Co., an Arlington, Va., benefits consultant, estimated the cost of the tax change at $14 billion for U.S. companies. The aim of the administration's action is to encourage more employers to offer health-care coverage to early retirees, the statement said.
Under the program, the government will reimburse businesses for 80 percent of early retirees' health-care expenses, amounting to from $15,000 to $90,000 per individual.
The program would be in place until 2014, when the overhaul requires a system of exchanges, or marketplaces, for consumers to shop and select health-insurance coverage.
Business Roundtable, a lobbying and advocacy group that represents U.S. companies with a combined $6 trillion in annual revenue, said Obama's effort would make it easier for employers who provide health coverage to workers who retire early to continue to do so.[/release]
Good to see that the government is ensuring companies won't take a big financial hit from the health care overhaul.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21788531]Good to see that the government is ensuring companies won't take a big financial hit from the health care overhaul.[/QUOTE]
Sure, it'll protect jobs...
but I'd much rather have that money going to someone who needs healthcare because they're underprivileged, not because they retired early.
:frown: Why
[QUOTE=playelite;21795770]:frown: Why[/QUOTE]
Because without the old people, you wouldn't be here.
[QUOTE=radioactive;21795779]Because without the old people, you wouldn't be here.[/QUOTE]
:banjo:
[QUOTE=radioactive;21795779]Because without the old people, you wouldn't be here.[/QUOTE]
Doesn't change the fact that a healthy chunk of old people are absolute cunts.
[QUOTE=Bathacker;21795909]Doesn't change the fact that a healthy chunk of old people are absolute cunts.[/QUOTE]
Maybe because annoying young whippersnappers like you piss them off.
[QUOTE=O'10er;21796442]Maybe because annoying young whippersnappers like you piss them off.[/QUOTE]
It used to be that you could only set fireworks off on Fourth of July here. That was the only day you were allowed to do it.
Then came the old fucks. They complained that for [i]one night out of the year[/i], the fireworks were making so much noise they couldn't sleep. They came in fucking [i]droves[/i] and bitched for months.
So, fireworks have been banned in my town for the last six years. Get caught with them and you could end up with a $1000 fine and a month in jail.
[QUOTE=Bathacker;21796775]It used to be that you could only set fireworks off on Fourth of July here. That was the only day you were allowed to do it.
Then came the old fucks. They complained that for [i]one night out of the year[/i], the fireworks were making so much noise they couldn't sleep. They came in fucking [i]droves[/i] and bitched for months.
So, fireworks have been banned in my town for the last six years. Get caught with them and you could end up with a $1000 fine and a month in jail.[/QUOTE]
The cops in my town never gave a fuck. :v:
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