The Week Just Passed: New Healthcare Law and our Communities

Protecting our Emergency Responders

Recommended Reading: What’s Next with the New Healthcare Law?

Recommended Reading: Good News on the Oil Import Front?

The Week Just Passed: New Healthcare Law and our Communities

“At a time of year when most people’s thoughts turn to friends and family or New Year’s resolutions, far too many people find themselves worried about their health care coverage or their job.

“As you know, the President’s health care law is already having serious consequences for American families, driving up costs and taking away the coverage they like and can afford.  And we have seen evidence that the hiring of part-timers is up and the hiring of full-timers is down – an effect of the new healthcare law’s 30-hour a week rule. 

“But this week there were new warning signs about the new law’s impact on many of the institutions at the very heart of our own communities - hospitals, small businesses, schools and even volunteer firehouses and emergency squads!

“Hospitals: Many so-called ‘safety-net’ hospitals are losing billions of dollars in federal aid that helps cover the cost of caring for the uninsured.  This could lead to these hospitals literally shutting their doors in communities that really depend upon them in coming years.

“Small Businesses: The backbone of our local economy, employers with fewer than 20 workers make up 90% of all businesses;  62% of all businesses have fewer than five employees!  Yet, the President’s new law is forcing many to cut hours for employees, defer hiring or lay off workers due to unaffordable costs!

“Schools: The Affordable Care Act could soon be more costly to the school districts which must incur additional expense to cover previously-uninsured workers.

“Students: Some graduate students planning to work on campus during the summer may see cuts. The 30-hour a week rule could greatly reduce the amount of time they can be on the job.

“Local Governments: The Washington Post recently reported that ‘Many cash-strapped cities and counties facing the prospect of shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars in new health-care costs under the Affordable Care Act are opting instead to reduce the number of hours their part-time employees work.’

“In addition, you will read below how many of us in Congress are deeply concerned about the future of the volunteer fire departments in our districts – staffed by men and women who selflessly answer every call every day to protect the lives and safety of our families and neighbors. 

“Clearly, supporters of the President’s new law thought the ACA would improve healthcare across the country.  I cannot believe that they ever imagined that it could so damage our communities in the process!”

Rodney Frelinghuysen

Protecting our Emergency Responders

Thousands of volunteer fire departments across the nation could be forced to shut down because they cannot afford the high costs of the President’s new healthcare law. Due to the law’s requirements, fire departments and emergency squads must provide health insurance for volunteers working more than 30 hours a week.  The current law stipulates that the ‘employer mandate’ must apply to organizations that have at least 50 employees, which can include multiple fire houses within one community.

“The vast majority of volunteers I speak with do not expect to receive health insurance from their departments. Volunteer firefighters and EMS responders do not see their work as a career or a part-time job – it’s a call to serve the community,” Rodney said. “And I know that volunteer fire and EMS departments operate on a shoe-string budget and won’t have the resources to pay for health insurance for their personnel. Without this new bureaucratic burden, most departments already have difficulty making ends meet.”  

Rodney has cosponsored legislation that would exempt fire departments from providing health insurance to volunteers. However, until the bill is passed, fire chiefs and municipal leaders must wait to see how the situation will be resolved. He wrote to Acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Danny Wurfel, “I am deeply concerned that subjecting fire departments and municipalities to this provision will result in services being reduced or eliminated.”  

Volunteer firefighters are vital in ensuring fire safety in New Jersey and across the nation. The National Volunteer Fire Council reports that there are 783,300 volunteer firefighters in the U.S. comprising 70% of firefighting force, and our nation has 20,050 volunteer departments.

Read Rodney’s letter here.

Recommended Reading: What’s Next with the New Healthcare Law?

The White House had more than three years to gear up for it, but the rollout of the President’s new healthcare law has become a cascade of questions about what will blindside the public next:  

• Next Healthcare crisis: Small-business costs? … There’s another political time bomb lurking … rate hikes for small businesses.” (POLITICO)

• “Next Obamacare Worry Is Getting Enrollees to Pay Premium” (Bloomberg)

•  “The next shock will come when the scores of millions outside the individual market … experience the downsides of Obamacare...” (Wall Street Journal op-ed)

• “Obamacare’s Next Shoe To Drop”: People Buying Coverage On The Exchanges May Owe More Money Than They're Being Told” (Forbes)

•  “The next challenge for the nation's health care law may be sticker shock…” (Associated Press)

• “…the next Obamacare challenge is a big one: How will the White House make sure all those people with canceled policies get new coverage by Jan. 1?” (POLITICO)

• “Keeping your doctors and hospitals may be the next vexing challenge for Americans in the new health plans created by President Barack Obama's law.”  (Associated Press)

• “‘You Can Keep Your Doctor’: Obamacare’s Next Broken Promise?” (TIME)

Recommended Reading: Clifford Krauss, writing in the Tuesday New York Times, “Oil Imports Shrink, Yet Worries Loom.”  Read the articlehere.