Chambers of Commerce wonder what healthcare bill means for area businesses
Story Created:
Mar 23, 2010 at 5:50 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Mar 23, 2010 at 6:15 PM EDT
MOHAWK VALLEY, N.Y. (WKTV) - As Sunday's Congressional vote on healthcare reform approached, the calls from local small business owners to their local chambers of commerce reached a crescendo.
Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce President Frank Elias said many were concerned about what the reform would mean to them.
"Overwhelmingly, the input is that there is opposition; this will increase the costs, this will increase the regulation and it's just one more burden for businesses here in New York State to have to deal with," Elias said of the phone calls.
The Mohawk Valley Chamber hasn't taken an official position, but the president said they basically support the U.S. Chamber's position. As was evident by a vehement media advertising campaign, the national chamber has come out against the reform.
The nine-member chamber alliance, which includes local chambers from Boonville, Herkimer, Marcy, New Hartford, Clinton, Kuyahoora Valley, Camden, Rome and Trenton has come out vocally against the reform, sending e-mails, letters and making phone calls to Congressman Arcuri's office leading up to Sunday's vote.
"The tax burden on them to provide certain plans for their people is going to be devastating," said Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Scarano.
"We've already heard some people say 'Our bottom line is what it is, we can't afford this, what are we going to do? We don't know what we're going to do, we're going to have to let some employees go,'" Scarano said of some of the phone calls he's received from area businesses.
Scarano said many small business owners fear the new legislation will force them to pay for things they don't want to pay for, and ask questions the answers to which they don't really want to know.
"They're going to actually have to put on people to comply with this," Scarano said. "The paperwork that's going to be involved in this ....they're going to have to get involved in their employees' personal healthcare a lot more than they do now. They're going to have to ask specific questions, which a lot of employees don't want their employers to know...and vice versa. Employers don't really want to do that."
Scarano wonders if the country is prepared to deal with an influx of millions into its healthcare system.
"There's going to be 36 million people more in the healthcare system," Scarano said. "We're out there now hearing, 'we need nurses, we need doctors,' Who's going to take care of these people? There's been nothing in this bill that addresses the need for more physicians or more nurses."
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