Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit

The Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit, part of the grand scheme of Obamacare to overhaul the current health care system and make health insurance affordable, is another money hole and dismal failure.

According to the Government Accounting Office:

Fewer small employers claimed the Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit in tax year 2010 than were estimated to be eligible. While 170,300 small employers claimed it, estimates of the eligible pool by government agencies and small business advocacy groups ranged from 1.4 million to 4 million.

That's fewer than 10% of the estimated eligible groups who said thanks, but no thanks, to a tax credit.

If the government can't even GIVE money away, what does that say about the way they are going to manage health insurance going forward?

One factor limiting the credit’s use is that most very small employers, 83 percent by one estimate, do not offer health insurance. According to employer representatives, tax preparers, and insurance brokers that GAO met with, the credit was not large enough to incentivize employers to begin offering insurance

Well yeah, that's a problem all right. You would think the brainiac's in DC would have considered that. But then these are the same folks that pass laws without ever bothering to read them before they vote on them.

The base of the credit is premiums paid or the average premium for an employer’s state if premiums paid were higher. In 2010, for small businesses, the credit was 35 percent of the base unless the business had more than 10 FTE employees or paid average annual wages over $25,000.

Even a 35% direct tax credit failed to provide enough incentive for businesses to provide health insurance if they did not do so already.

This won't improve in 2014 and there is no reason why it should. Of course, small businesses (those with fewer than 50 employees) are not penalized for failure to provide health insurance. In addition, most low wage employees will get their health insurance through the Medicaid expansion as ordered by Obamacrap.

Of course the states can't cover their current Medicaid costs so one wonders where the money will come in 2014.

Somehow this hope and change thing doesn't seem to be working too well. I hope those who voted for change the last time will have become a bit wiser and educated in the interim.