3/23/2010: That was the date that was supposed to change everything — the date the reform bill was signed into law by President Obama. Although the WH focus tonight was squarely on the tragedy that continues to unfold in the Gulf, the potential for healthcare and its role as a policy game-changer in the November midterms continues to loom as an unexpected burden for Obama.

Gone is the self-serving satisfaction he and the WH can revel in until beneficial changes for healthcare consumers begin to trickle in over the next year or so. The trepidation Americans feel over the true impact of the new reform legislation is just another concern amidst a strong recession and weak job recovery. Not only are consumers (employees) feeling the pressure to understand reform and its meaning for them, employers — particularly small employers — are wondering if their responsibilities in financing coverage will become more ponderous than Obama has promised.

Obama has always said that if consumers liked their current mode of coverage, they could keep it — a “provision” of the reform bill the administration has understandably been less than forthcoming on its tenets, given current perception of the short term costs reform will incur at the government level. [WH fact sheet here.] The grandfathering of healthcare consumers’ plans will retain much of their character, the WH insists, unless “significant” market forces dictate otherwise. The vagueness of that “significance” is what worries employers — who initially may be able to weather reform in its early stages, but face the prospect of jettisoning coverage for employees completely by 2014 (the year major changes in reform will statutorily be implemented).

If that option is taken by employers, what’s next for them? The administration and HHS continue to stand by claims that certain incentives (tax credits, perhaps) will be in place for small employers for continued participation in reform. But it’s still a hollow feeling for small businesses to fend for themselves in the wild, wild world of healthcare exchanges. | LINK

Related Posts Within Doctor Pundit:

1. Small Business Coverage Benefits Could Be Missed in Final Reform Bill Republicans have always been on the side of small businesses....
2. Mass. Governor Announces Plan to Help Small Business in State’s Turbulent Universal Coverage Environment One thing that Massachusetts has learned from its experience as...
3. New Rules under Reform Promise Smoother Appeals Process for Claim Denials Got a gripe with your health insurer? You may be...
4. Small Business Poised to Benefit Under Reform In the nascent days of Pres. Obama’s reform legislation, much...
5. Small Business Coalition Launches National Anti-Reform Effort As the GOP prepares to vote on Rep. Paul Ryan’s...