[henkster]

As with your employer, McDonald’s, and all employers, the personnel costs are a fixed percentage of the overall business plan. Health care is a personnel cost, just like salaries, unemployment compensation, social security, and any other “benefit” an employee gets.

Health care has just moved from a “benefit” which is bestowed by discretion of the employer, to a “mandatory cost” like social security and unemployment or workmen’s comp. It will all go into the package of determining the personnel “bottom line,” which will drive how many employees the company has, and what their rate of compensation will be.

My guess is that companies are going to cut staff, hold or cut pay, or some combination thereof. It will not be pretty. And that’s assuming the company decides in the first place to continue operations in the United States at it’s current model, outsource, or completely discontinue operations here entirely.

[Ingtar]

The other option they have, and one I expect will be chosen more often as times passes, is to drop coverage and pay $750 in fines per year for each employee.

[Onelifetogive]

Health care has just moved from a “benefit” which is bestowed by discretion of the employer, to a “mandatory cost” like social security and unemployment or workmen’s comp.

Yes, but do we know what percent the employer must pay?

[Cyman]

“My guess is that companies are going to cut staff, hold or cut pay, or some combination thereof. It will not be pretty. And that’s assuming the company decides in the first place to continue operations in the United States at it’s current model, outsource, or completely discontinue operations here entirely”

This morning I had to tell my medical office staff that we needed to cut 1 and 1/2 employees by the first of April. I asked for volunteers regarding cutting back hours or retirement in case someone had been thinking about that very thing. Got no takers as of yet. Seven person office with 5 of the 7 being with me over 10 years.

I am afraid that i will be saying goodbye to some very good friends. I feel worse than when they passed this crap.

[DrC]

“that’s assuming the company decides in the first place to continue operations in the United States”

In the case of McDonald’s this presumably won’t be an issue. To my knowledge, hamburger delivery cannot yet be outsourced to India...