The New Anti-Business Health Care Bill

An e-mail has been circulating with a link to the health care bill Congress has been deliberating about for the past month.

So because this is the future (potentially) for everyone, we thought we'd share some of e-mail with you. It includes highlights from the, particularly those that will majorly affect businesses and jobs.

Without further ado, here's...

The New Anti-Business Health Care Bill

Health Care Bill

The following is the accumulation of Twitter posts from an ex-Marine Peter Flexstein. It gives page numbers to where in the bill everything is located, so you can see it all for your self.

Happy Reading!

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!

Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits u get

Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!

Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!

PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

Pg 58 HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!

Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer

PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).

Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.

PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!

PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens

Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan

PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed

PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will b automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice

pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Govt Monop

pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.

Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE

Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.

Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll

pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll

Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc

Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes. (Americans will pay)

Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access 2 ALL Americans finan/pers recs

PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that

Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected

Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty u have, you'll all be paid the same

PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.

PG 265 Sec 1131 Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries

PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs

PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!

Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.

Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.

Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.

Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand

pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can u say ACORN?!!

Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing

Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority 2 disqual Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing peeps in2 Govt plan

Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs ppl! WTF. My sis has down syndrome!!

Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?

PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life

Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!

PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death

PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program 4 orders 4 end of life. The Govt has a say in how ur life ends

Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will b used frequently as patients health deteriorates

PG 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may incl an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV

Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment u will have at end of life

Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?

Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?

PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt in2 ur marriage

Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svc

Sure, Safety First But This Is Ridiculous

Can't Paint an Old Dog Blue

Open the newspaper and look at the coverage over the health care legislation. Now, tell me what the heck is a Blue Dog Democrat?

A Wall Street article today stated that the Blue Dog Coalition formed in 1994 after the Democrats lost Congress. The group is supposed to be a collection of moderate Democrats that are meant to support businesses.

They're holding up the health care bill that calls for mandatory health care to be provided by most employers and the formation of a federal health insurer, amongst other things. In the past the group has helped delay climate change legislation that would burden business and pro-union legislation.

But the so-called business helpers aren't looking to drastically re-write the legislation being deliberated in Congress. Instead they're trying to cut some costs for small business and make a power ploy at a time when Democrats can smell control over Congress.

Currently the party holds the majority in both the House and Senate. And they have enough votes to avoid a Republican filibuster (a political tactic that parties helps prevent legislation from coming to a vote).

What does this mean for small business in Northeast Ohio?

It means will be on our heals while the bureaucrats vacation starting August 1 because we won't know the fate of medical insurance requirements.

All the while the real problem is being ignored. The problem is the cost of health insurance which is at an all time high.

About 10 percent of all health care costs treat obesity related illnesses.

Then there's the problem at the core of health care reform: the business model. Hospitals get paid per procedure rather than per result.

You can paint an old dog blue, but it's only going to bark until it gets the green.

LINKS:
NY Times article on household health care cost.

An article from the Washington Post that sums up the US health care system though heart disease treatments.

TGIF: Hollywood Thinks People At Work Equal Comedy

The summer movie swing has kicked into high gear. Hollywood gave us the next installment of a wizard movie series, an early dose of superhero and a pair of intergalactic prequels.

What's next on the menu?

A pair of work-place related movies that us working stiff are supposed to relate to.

First there's director/writer Mike Judge's new film Extract.



You may remember Mike Judge from the immortal work-place film classic Office Space. This time he's tackling a more industrial work place.

Look for the movie in theaters September 4, Labor Day Weekend, for a good close out to the summer movie season.

Next is the tale of a used car dealership in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard.



Okay, car sales may be a different breed than other sales positions. But this comedy looks hard-hitting and laugh-out-loud funny.

This will come out August 14, so check that out in a few weeks.

Do you have a favorite workplace movie? Post it on the comment wall!

Don't Let PR Pull Wool Over Your Eyes

I don't know how I got on their mailing list, but Business Journal Daily has been sending me daily headline e-mails.

And the site is pretty good at covering local business topics from the Mahoning Valley. It's a small operation and they get new, local content every day.

But today the screwed the pooch.

One of the top three headlines read "Covelli Centre Post Profit for Quarter." And that's definitely a piece of quality news because the arena recently changed names and brought new management in to turn around an operation that has never turned a profit during a fiscal quarter.

But the arena only turned an $11,087 profit after cutting $70,000 in salary and benefits, according to the article.

"Ryan said the Covelli Centre was able to make money during the second quarter because the arena chopped expenses by 23%, including placing two full-time employees on layoff."

The terminology "placing employees on layoff" sounds like it came straight from a local officials mouth, or press release. The were FIRED. Don't PR fluff it.

What did they do? Who were they? Why did the arena only profit 16 percent of the cuts?

And the arena plans to lose money in the fourth quarter?

I understand that the reporter probably wrote the article on deadline after the City Council meeting, but at least show some scepticism and wait a day to get those questions answered.

Tip of the Month: Mid-Term Exam

It's time to test your knowledge about how to best utilize the staffing industry to service your contingency workforce needs. The answers appear at the end of this E-letter - no peeking - Good Luck!




1. Which of the following benefits for utilizing contingency labor is not provided by your Staffing Company?
A. Absorbing Workers Comp and Unemployment Comp Risks.
B. Perform administrative tasks such as payroll processing, UC claim forms, garnishments, etc.
C. Covers the cost of recruiting qualified personnel.
D. Funds your payroll interest free subject to credit terms
E. All of the above
F. None of the above

2. Your staffing supplier has the legal responsibility to post all temp related injuries on its OSHA Log?
A. True
B. False

3. In regard to work related accidents involving temps your service should not do which of the following?
A. Have the injured worker complete their own accident investigation form.
B. Require the injured worker to take a timely post accident drug test.
C. Blame the client for providing an unsafe work environment.
D. Have a progressive disciplinary program pertaining to violation of safety rules.
E. All of the above.

4. Your provider charges a 40% mark-up. The temps pay rate is $10.00/hr. Your hourly bill rate is?
A. $12.00/hr
B. $10.00/hr
C. $13.50/hr
D. None of the above


5. The only exception to paying Ohio state sales tax on temps is to have a formal contract between the service provider and the purchaser for duration of at least one year that specifies that each employee covered under the contract is assigned to the purchaser on a permanent basis?
A. True
B. False

6. Which of the following are great reasons for utilizing a small independent supplier of staffing services instead of a big national supplier?
A. Smaller suppliers emphasize customer service more like delivering paychecks and baking pumpkin rolls.
B. Less bureaucratic levels to deal with when you have problems.
C. With nationals you pay for services you don't really use or need.
D. Independents tend to be more involved in the community.
E. Ryan Staffing has been a small independent supplier since 1991.
F. All of the above.

7. Your service should provide all the following insurance coverage except?
A. General liability - $5,000,000
B. Professional liability - $5,000,000
C. Employee dishonesty - $1,000,000
D. Pre-nuptial agreements - $2,000,000
E. Statutory workers comp coverage.

8. Staffing firms employed an average of how many workers per day during the first quarter of 2009?
A. 10 million
B. 42 million
C. 1.99 million
D. 18 million

9. To lower your cost for temporary staffing labor your provider should offer all of the following except?
A. Overtime markup less than 1.5 x straight time bill rate
B. Reducing bill rates on long term temps
C. Waive all liquidation charges for perm hiring of temps
D. Offer lower payrolling rates for temps referred by the client
E. Pays all temps $4.50/hr

10. Which of the following have been prizes won by the loyal readers of "News You Can Use"?
A. Cavs tickets to see Shaq battle Lebron
B. Steelers vs. Browns tickets
C. Cedar Point passes
D. Cheech and Chong tickets
E. Tribe home opener tickets
F. Gas and scratch package
G. Gas, dinner and a movie night
H. All of the above and more!

Drop us an e-mail if you got 100%! And to be eligible for this month's prize!! Answers are coming in the Corner Stool!

The Corner Stool: Made in the U.S.A.

We do make stuff in this country.

If you are like me these days you get awfully tired of the daily blasting the good old USA takes from the politicians and the talking heads. Over the years I have on many occasions told my kids that there are two types of people in the world.... problem identifiers or problem solvers. And that there are to many of the first and not enough of the second.

The identifiers will have you believe that all of our problems center on the elimination of our manufacturing base (i.e. "we don't make anything here anymore").

Every time I hear this I can't help but think what a load of crap. Historically, Ryan Staffing has gotten about 80% of its business from a manufacturing client base. While the types of companies in the base have changed over the years it doesn't take Einstein to drive around NE Ohio to see all the great companies pounding out a product. Now for the facts:

Manufacturing Output as percent of world manufacturing output, 2007
United States 20%
China 12%
Russia 4%
Brazil 2%
India 2%
Indonesia 1%
South Africa 1%
Rest of World 58%

According to John Engler, President of the National Association of Manufactures, "The USA manufacturing output in 2007 set an all time record". He goes on to point out that the USA produces about one-fourth of the worlds industrial output which is twice as much as fourth place China. (Japan and the European Union rank third and second.)

What is interesting about this debate is that it is true we have lost three million manufacturing jobs since 2000 but productivity has grown so fast that today 75 workers produce what it took 100 workers to produce back then.

The truth is that our percentage of global manufacturing is the same today as it was 20 years ago (or longer). Our manufacturing output since 2000 is up 19%.

One last thing before you get ready to buy your plane ticket to China remember this:

GDP per Capita (good produced / population)
United States $45,790
China $ 3,315

The countries with the smallest manufacturing base have the highest per capita GDP. . . go figure.

Now don't you feel better?

Bits and Pieces

Lie detectors? You may not realize it (unless you look at all those mandated posters hanging on your bulletin boards) that there is a law called the Federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988.

Basically, the law protects employees from being forced to take a polygraph test for a variety of reasons. It does permit employers to request that an employee submit to a polygraph if it can establish it is connected to an ongoing investigation involving economic loss.

As always seek counsel before using a polygraph test.

Did you know. . . If one of your employees commits a felony that you know about you have a legal obligation to report it? Failing to do so is a fourth degree misdemeanor under Ohio Law.


Federal Minimum Wage Rises

This doesn't impact us Ohio employers much because our state minimum wage of $7.30/hr still is higher than the new Federal rate of $7.25/hr. But if your receipts are less than $267,000 you do have to pay the $7.25/hr.


When It Goes Up Things Will Improve

The demand for temporary and contract employees remained unchanged for June. The current index is at 72 which is 27 points lower than a year ago.

Historically, increasing demand for temps is a bullish sign for the economy as a whole. For more on this visit: americanstaffing.net


They Said It Best

"Only two things are infinite, the Universe and Human Stupidity, and I 'm not sure about the former" -Albert Einstein-
"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have" -Thomas Jefferson-


Getting Better?
The result from last months survey question give some hope. Is your business getting better? Definitely yes-- 43%, Definitely no-- 31%, Bottomed out but not going up-- 26%

Having Copier Problems? Thank Goodness It's Friday!!

Are you limping to the weekend? At least you aren't having as many problems as Samir.



Relax because it's FRIDAY. Take a deep breath so you don't lose it and try this:



If you haven't seen Office Space, I recommend renting it. This guy was pretty glad he saw the movie:



HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Note: Ryan Alternative Staffing does not endorse watching videos while at work. We can not be held responsible for any incident where a boss peaks over an unsuspecting, laughing employee's shoulders. We take no responsibility for making anyone laugh in the event it gets an employee into trouble.

Embrace Your Geekness Day