16 Minutes on Health Insurance

It was exciting! The Democratic candidates for president were here in my hometown last night, at my alma mater, debating the issues that will define their presidency.

In my office building, we have the Obama '08 campaign in a lobby office as a tenant. Last night, Ms. Clinton's supporters and Mr. Obama's supporters stood on opposite street corners cheering on their candidates. They also hung out in different bars (Pickwick & Frolic for Clinton supporters and The Clevelander for Obama supporters). Most local schools were closed because of weather, the musical Wicked was in town, and traffic was at a standstill. Tim Russert, the moderator, is a 1974 graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of law. Moderator Brian Williams went home with a signed Cleveland Browns helmet. All dramatic and exciting.

This was the backdrop for the 90 minute Democratic Presidential Debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Of that 90 minutes, 16 minutes were spent debating health care. Health insurance remains one of the most expensive parts of any business insurance plan. How do their plans differ? How would their plans affect your bottom line? I had hoped to be able to present some answers here today.

Neither candidate addressed exactly how these plans would work, but instead insisted on debating the definition of "universal mandate." Under Mr. Obama's plan, small businesses and self-employed persons would qualify for a new public insurance program and be able to participate in a health insurance exchange. But, Mr. Barak's plan will not include a mandate that all Americans obtain health insurance. It does require parents to obtain health insurance for children. Ms. Clinton's plan includes a mandate requiring all Americans to obtain health insurance. The idea is that, with more Americans in the risk pool, premiums will be lower. Her plan specifically calls for a tax credit for small businesses that provide their employees with health insurance. If your business has a large number of retirees, you should know that Ms. Clinton's plan would provide a tax credit to businesses that provide continuing health coverage to retirees.

You can see a good side-by-side comparison of their health care plans at the AFL-CIO website.

The small business owner or self-employed person was not enlightened by the 16 minutes of health care debate. We learned that Mr. Obama cannot describe how he will encourage voluntary involvement in his plan and Ms. Clinton cannot describe how she would enforce the mandate required in her plan. It was exciting to be in Cleveland last night - but, not particularly enlightening.