Employers around the country, from fast-food franchises to colleges, have told NBC News that they will be cutting workers’ hours below 30 a week because they can’t afford to offer the health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
“To tell somebody that you’ve got to decrease their hours because of a law passed in Washington is very frustrating to me,” said Loren Goodridge, who owns 21 Subway franchises, including a restaurant in Kennebunk. “I know the impact I’m having on some of my employees.”
Goodridge said he’s cutting the hours of 50 workers to no more than 29 a week so he won’t trigger the provision in the new health care law that requires employers to offer coverage to employees who work 30 hours or more per week. The provision takes effect in 16 months.
Luke Perfect, who has worked at Goodridge’s Kennebunk Subway for more than a decade, said it was “horrible” to learn he was among the employees whose hours would be limited, and that it would be a financial hardship. “I’m barely scraping by with overtime,” he said.
The White House dismisses such examples as “anecdotal.” Jason Furman, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, said, “We are seeing no systematic evidence that the Affordable Care Act is having an adverse impact on job growth or the number of hours employees are working. … [S]ince the ACA became law, nearly 90 percent of the gain in employment has been in full-time positions.”
But the president of an influential union that supports Obamacare said the White House is wrong.
“It IS happening,” insisted Joseph Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which has 1.2 million members. “Wait a year. You’ll see tremendous impact as workers have their hours reduced and their incomes reduced. The facts are already starting to show up. Their statistics, I think, are a little behind the time.”
In a letter to Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, Hansen joined other labor chieftains in warning that the ACA as presently written could “destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the middle class.”
NBC News spoke with almost 20 small businesses and other entities from Maine to California, and almost all said that because of the new law they’d be cutting back hours for some employees – an unintended consequence of the new law.
At St. Petersburg College, a public university in Florida where most of the faculty is part-time, 250 have had their hours reduced for the fall term because the college said it can’t afford to offer them health insurance.
St Petersburg’s president, Dr. Bill Law, said providing health care for the 250 adjunct professors would cost more than $777,000 dollars a year. “The cost associated with making a part-timer benefits-eligible really is not available to us as a public college,” said Law.
“I don’t think anyone [passed the law] so they could make our life worse,” said Law. “They did it because people need access to health care.”
Part-time math professor Tracey Sullivan said she will lose half her income because of the cuts.
“I never thought it would impact me directly,” said Sullivan. “I was stunned when I got the email…I love teaching at St. Pete College but that is a significant cut.”
Many businesses are reluctant to talk about cutting hours for fear the public will view them as stingy or uncaring about their workers. But Goodridge said that many small businesses have very small profit margins and that while he already provides health insurance to senior employees, offering health insurance to many more workers would require him to pass a significant price increase on to his customers.
“The consumer only has so much money in their pocket,” he said. “I just don’t feel, knowing my customers and knowing my business, now is the time to be raising prices.”
In July, the administration announced that it had delayed implementation of the “employer mandate,” which was supposed to take effect on Jan. 1. Now businesses with more than 50 workers will not be penalized for failing to offer insurance to full-time employees until Jan. 1, 2015.
Goodridge has given his Subway employees a reprieve until he hears more from the administration, but still plans to make cutbacks before the mandate kicks in. And other businesses that had already planned cuts have not necessarily delayed them. St. Petersburg college officials said they don’t want to undo the cuts they’ve already made only to revisit them next year.
While the small businesses and the union agree there’s a problem, they disagree about the appropriate solution.
Some businesses want to raise the threshold to 40 hours. But Hansen said 40 hours would be a “gift to employers” that would simply allow them to continue to skirt the law by cutting workers off at 39 hours. Instead, Hansen and other union leaders have proposed lowering the threshold to 20 hours. They have also objected publicly to a tax provision of the ACA that impacts the health plans they already offer to some union members.
“We still support the act,” said Hansen. “It does an awful lot of good things. We just want the administration and Congress, if they can, to fix it.”
Scurich Insurance Services has proudly served the Monterey Bay area since 1924. Scurich will take care of all of your insurance needs. Are you a business owner, did you get a new car or maybe you are looking to protect your family in the event of a tragedy? Give us a call, we can help!
We are located at:
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320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
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Information provided by: http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/13/.UgsB7W6O8RU.email
By Lisa Myers and Carroll Ann Mears
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“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”-Mother Theresa
Studies suggest that smiling, forced or not, can have a positive effect on your mood, decrease stress levels, and even make everyone around you feel better. Here are 9 surprising benefits of smiling that will really give you something to smile about.
1. Smiling is Contagious
Because of complex brain activity that occurs when you see someone smiling, smiles are contagious. Studies report that just seeing one person smiling activates the area of your brain that controls your facial movement, which leads to a grin.
Because of complex brain activity that occurs when you see someone smiling, smiles are contagious. Studies report that just seeing one person smiling activates the area of your brain that controls your facial movement, which leads to a grin.
2. You’ll Decrease Stress and Anxiety
It’s not easy to keep smiling in stressful situations, but studies report that doing exactly that has health benefits. When recovering from a stressful situation, study participants who were smiling had lower heart rates than those with a neutral facial expression.
3. Smiling Releases Endorphins
Smiling decreases stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins, chemicals that makes you happier. Endorphins are the same chemicals you get from working out or running, resulting in what is known as a runner’s high.
4. You’ll Be More Attractive
A smile suggests that you’re personable, easy going, and empathetic. In fact, a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that smiling actually makes you more attractive to those you smile at.
5. Smiling Strengthens Your Immune System
Smiling even makes your immune system stronger by making your body produce white blood cells to help fight illnesses. One study found that hospitalized children who were visited by story-tellers and puppeteers who made them smile and laugh had higher white blood cell counts than those children who weren’t visited.
6. You’ll Be Friendlier
Studies have found that people are more willing to engage socially with others who are smiling. A smile is an inviting facial expression that tells people you are willing to talk and interact with them.
7. Smiling Will Make You More Comfortable
Our natural tendency is to stick to things that are familiar, but smiling decreases this need. A study found that smiling can make you more comfortable in situations you would otherwise feel awkward in.
8. You’ll Be More Trustworthy
Trusting doesn’t come easily to many, but smiling at someone may help. Participants in a University of Pittsburgh study rated people who smiled as more trustworthy than people with non-smiling facial expressions.
9. You’ll Be a Better Leader
If you’re in a position of power, or want to be, smiling may be the key to your success. A group of researchers from The University of Montpellier discovered that smiling is a more effective leadership technique than having great management responsibilities.
Scurich Insurance Services has proudly served the Monterey Bay area since 1924. Scurich will take care of all of your insurance needs. Are you a business owner, did you get a new car or maybe you are looking to protect your family in the event of a tragedy? Give us a call, we can help!
We are located at:
Scurich Insurance Services
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
Information Provided by: http://inspiyr.com/9-benefits-of-smiling/
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Keep in mind that there is no obligation to enter our promotion and you must live in California to enter. You will not receive any spam marketing from us.
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Scurich Insurance Services has proudly served the Monterey Bay area since 1924. Scurich will take care of all of your insurance needs. Are you a business owner, did you get a new car or maybe you are looking to protect your family in the event of a tragedy? Give us a call, we can help!
We are located at:
Scurich Insurance Services
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
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By Elissa Richard | Compass – Fri, May 3, 2013 1:49 PM EDT
The legendary Loch Ness Monster might have turned 80 this week, but one overly cautious cruise company isn’t convinced that she’s any less of a threat. While “Nessie” hasn’t reportedly harmed a soul—or ship—to date (or actually been proved to exist, for that matter), Scottish cruise line Jacobite Cruises isn’t taking any chances.
Should the octogenarian lake-lurker turn up crotchety while any of their fleet is in operation, it’ll be smooth financial sailing for them all the same, thanks to their recently purchased $1.5 million insurance policy against any potential damages incurred by Scotland’s storied monster.
Jacobite owner Freda Newton explained to The Scottish Sun, “I don’t know what the odds of this actually happening might be, but this is Loch Ness and how silly would we look if it did and we weren’t covered for it?”
No, there’s nothing silly about this cruise line, which operates several sightseeing cruises in the Scottish Highlands region, including trips on Loch Ness. Just look at the free publicity storm they’re brewing on the heels of the 80th anniversary of the first sighting of the mythical lake creature.
Director of Inverness-based insurer Towergate Moray Firth, which issued the policy, admitted to the paper that “This is probably the most unusual insurance request we have ever had, but we were delighted to provide cover to Jacobite Cruises.”
Scurich Insurance Services has the coverage you need for almost any situation from
Commercial Packages to Group Insurance. Call them today! 800-320-3666
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As most of you know, the Affordable Care Act, or what most of you know it as Obamacare, will take effect in 2014. When this bill takes effect, it will become mandatory that you purchase some sort of health insurance, and if you don’t you will end up finding yourself being penalized by the federal government. But, what are these penalties and how will the effect you.
According to MSN Money, “The actual individual mandate penalties under the Affordable Care Act are perhaps the easiest part of the program to understand:
- In 2014, the annual penalty will be $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, up to a family maximum of $285 or 1% of family income, whichever is greater.
- In 2015, the penalty will be $325 per adult and $162.50 per child, up to a family maximum of $975 or 2% of family income, whichever is greater.
- In 2016, the penalty will be $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, up to a family maximum of $2,085 or 2.5% of family income, whichever is greater.
“Most people think of it as an annual penalty,” notes Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at Kaiser. “But it is in fact a monthly thing, and you would pay a penalty for any month that you are uncovered.” However, a person may be without coverage for up to three months without triggering the penalty.” (1)
So don’t be caught without insurance. Contact Scurich Insurance Services located in Watsonville, California. at 831-722-3541 and let us shop the health insurance market for you so that you can get the best health insurance plan out there.
(1) http://money.msn.com/health-and-life-insurance/how-obamacare-penalty-will-work
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It’s not just diet and exercise—where people live matters to their health.
And in California, Santa Cruz County earns a decent rating for community health, according to the 2013 County Health Rankings released this week.
Santa Cruz comes in No. 13 in the state for health outcomes, measured by mortality and morbidity. The county ranks 10th for health factors, a broad category that includes health behaviors (like smoking), healthcare, the physical environment, and social and economic factors.
“These ratings are a snapshot of the health of the community,” said Dr. Lisa Hernandez, Santa Cruz County Health Officer.
Fifty-seven of California’s 58 counties were ranked. Rural Alpine County was too small to measure in many of the categories, officials said.
Santa Cruz County’s marks puts the county ahead of neighboring Monterey County but lagging behind Santa Clara County.
| County Health Rankings 2013 |
| County |
Health Outcomes |
Health Factors |
| Monterey |
21 |
29 |
| San Benito |
10 |
23 |
| Santa Clara |
3 |
4 |
| Santa Cruz |
13 |
10 |
Santa Cruz has earned better ratings in prior years. Officials attributed the decline in rankings to other counties’ improving health, not worsening conditions in Santa Cruz County.
Some highlights from the report:
- The county saw improvement in the number of adult residents who have graduated from high school, which up to 86 percent at last count. The low in the past four years was 77 percent.
- Santa Cruz County ranked 16th in the state for access to recreational facilities.
- The county’s motor vehicle crash death rate is the 9th lowest in California.
But 19 percent of children in the county live in poverty, and the ratio of physicians to patients climbed, from one doctor per 923 patients in 2012 to one per 1,047 this year.
Check out Santa Cruz County’s rankings in various categories over the past four years below. A lower rating is better.
| Santa Cruz County Health Rankings |
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
| Health Outcomes (total) |
8 |
7 |
10 |
13 |
| Morality |
6 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
| Morbidity |
7 |
7 |
13 |
20 |
| Health Factors (total) |
8 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
| Health Behaviors |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
| Clinical Care |
19 |
24 |
13 |
12 |
| Social & Economic Factors |
13 |
17 |
23 |
21 |
| Physical Environment |
37 |
5 |
10 |
9 |
The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program began in 2010 as a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is important to work with a professional in this area. Additional questions? Ask us, we’re here to help! For additional information about our insurance products, no-cost advice or for your free, no-obligation insurance quote, please contact the professionals at Scurich Insurance Services today at 800-320-3666 and we will be more than happy to assist you.
This story was taken form www.watsonville.patch.com and was written by Jennifer Squires. Scurich Insurance did not create this content–we just wanted to share it with you!
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