Rick Ungar (Forbes): The first statistics are coming in and, to the surprise of a great many, Obamacare might just be working to bring health care to working Americans precisely as promised.
The major health insurance companies around the country are reporting a significant increase in small businesses offering health care benefits to their employees.
Why? Because the tax cut created in the new health care reform law providing small businesses with an incentive to give health benefits to employees is working.
….United Health Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, added 75,000 new customers working in businesses with fewer than 50 employees ….. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City reports an astounding 58% increase in the number of small businesses purchasing coverage in their area since April, 2010 – one month after the health care reform legislation became law.
“One of the biggest problems in the small-group market is affordability,” said Ron Rowe, who oversees small-group sales for the Kansas City operation for Blue Cross Blue Shied. “We looked at the tax credit and said, ‘this is perfect.” Rowe went on to say that 38% of the businesses it is signing up had not offered health benefits before.
Whatever your particular ideology, there is simply no denying that these statistics are incredibly heartening. However, for those of you who cannot get past your opposition, even for a moment of universal good news, let’s break it down.
The primary, most enduring complaint of the opponents of the ACA has been that the law is deathly bad for small business: Apparently, small businesses, and their employees, do not agree.
The next argument has been that the PPACA is a job killer: If these small businesses found the new law to be so onerous, why have so many of them voluntarily taken advantage of the benefits provided in the law to give their employees these benefits? They were not mandated to do so…
Of course, there is the nagging banter as to how Obamacare is leading us down the road to socialism: Let it go, folks.
Private market insurance companies are experiencing significant growth because of a tax break provided by the PPACA. I may have missed the day this was discussed in economics class, but I’m pretty sure this is not a socialistic result of federal legislation.
When data like this appears, we have the opportunity to really find out who is talking smack for political benefit and who actually cares about getting affordable and available health care to America’s workers … if you cannot celebrate what appears to be an important early success, you really should give some thought as to where your true interests and intents lie.
If you’re all about beating up on President Obama, you can conveniently forget this bit of data as if it never really happened. However, if your interest is to make health care available to more Americans, this should be a happy day for you – no matter what your ideological beliefs.
This is seriously wonderful news: Full article here
The Obama Diary 
You know, the best thing about that article is that the author answered comments. If more bloggers would do that, I don’t think there would be so much wild accusation and hate running around. It was really interesting to read down those comments, and find the reasons that they were made.
This was in Forbes?? Really?? The Forbes Mag that published an article about POTUS that said: “What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?
Wow! Never saw this coming from them! Then, yes, this is truly a happy day! They used their powers for good for a change! 🙂
I’m beginning to fear that Rick Ungar has been ‘disappeared’ by Forbes! The link to his article won’t work now – hopefully it’s because the site has been overwhelmed by traffic to his post 😐
I had to keep trying, but the link is good again, Chipsticks. Great article & good news
Pheeeeeeeeew, thanks for letting me know Cat 😉
I saw this post and then I saw our “favorite” conservative (David Brook’s) article in the Times. He goes through alot of hoops to say health care reform was and is a bad idea. Facts such as Poll Poll Glorious Polls, and right-wing judges calling the law unconstitutional. Oh yeah, he also had a fact about the largest state in the republic (New Hampshire) having only 2 people and it costing the state a trillion dollars…but of COURSE he neglected to mention anything about the rise in small businesses opting to get health care. Or the millions of college age kids getting health care.As a matter of, he belligerently goes on about employers dropping their employees ( no facts back that up). Sigh, one of these days people will get tired of lying.