March 2, 2010 (HYANNIS) The state division of insurance got an earful from local business owners yesterday in Hyannis during a hearing focused on the escalating cost of health insurance.
One person after another told stories of how their costs are skyrocketing – and their profits are dropping.
Representatives from area chambers of commerce say their members are facing rate increases anywhere between 10-and-39 percent yearly.
Deb Converse with the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce says many employers aren’t hiring new workers because of the increasing cost to insure current staff.
One local insurance broker called on lawmakers to work on tort reform – saying that’s one of the main reasons health insurance costs are out of control.
Richard Egan, who owns a physical therapy practice, says the cost to insure his workers has been going up – while the insurance companies have frozen his reimbursement.
Egan says he wants to know where all the money is going.
Other business owners talked about how the state’s mandated health plan has many unintended problems – like penalizing a company when it doesn’t meet quotas for insured workers – only because the workers can’t afford the cost.
Rush Limbaugh
Howie Carr
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