This is what happens when we let the 1950s dream world Republicans run everything. They have terrorized Americans into thinking that any change in healthcare is Marxist communism and so it's better to let the situation spiral out of control. The market is now deciding that it's too expensive to hire new workers because the costs are cutting into profits. The Republicans won't be happy until everyone pays for healthcare all on their own.
Government data, industry surveys and interviews with employers big and small indicate that many businesses remain reluctant to hire full-time employees because health insurance, which now costs the nation's employers an average of about $3,000 a year for each worker, has become one of the fastest-growing costs for companies. Health premiums are sapping corporate balance sheets even more than the rising cost of energy.
"Health care is a major reason why employment growth has been so sluggish," said Sung Won Sohn, the chief economist at Wells Fargo.
Businesses, meanwhile, are trying all kinds of coping strategies. Some companies have responded by shifting part of the health insurance burden onto their workers or by ratcheting up premiums and deductibles. Some have eliminated coverage for dependents, while others have canceled their medical plans altogether. Many have frozen or reduced wages to compensate for ever bigger health insurance bills.
Phyllis Burlage, an accountant in Millersville, Md., whose clients include several small businesses, said rising health insurance costs were driving some employers to skirt age-discrimination law by hiring only younger workers as a way to reduce premiums. "It's the deep dark secret of small businesses," Ms. Burlage said.
