Costs soaring for providing free insurance for Iowa state employees
Iowa is one of only six states to offer the option of free health insurance to state government employees and their families. And the state’s cost to provide health insurance has increased more than 300 percent — $176 million — in 10 years, a Des Moines Register analysis shows. Iowa’s state employees also pay substantially lower out-of-pocket health insurance costs, such as deductibles and office co-payments, than private-sector workers, according to an independent study of nearly 900 businesses and government employers conducted this year by David P. Lind & Associates of Clive. Government employees at all levels in Iowa, including those working for schools and local read more
Read MorePremium tax would hike health-insurance costs
Why? Because Congress wants to levy a $6. 7 billion premium tax on all private health plans each year for the next decade to pay for reform. That’s a $67 billion tax. Health plans will have no choice but to pass these costs on to the consumer. This tax will make it tougher for families to afford coverage, increase the difficulty for small-business owners trying hard to insure workers, and stifle job creation. In Florida, small businesses are the bedrock of our economy. This tax will hit our economy especially hard. It’s just not what families and small businesses need as they dig their way out of a severe recession. The Congressional Budget Office evaluated this tax and read more
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