IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Proposed Health Insurance Fine Puts Small Businesses In A Fix

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Proposed Health Insurance Fine Puts Small Businesses In A Fix: "Like just about every other sector of the economy, small business has been trying to get a fix on a moving target: the Democratic Congress' notion of how to pay for the health insurance it wants all Americans to have.

The House version would require any employer with a payroll of at least $500,000 a year to provide health insurance or pay a penalty.

The penalty would start at 2% of payroll and increase with payroll size. The maximum penalty would be 8% of payroll for firms whose annual outlay for wages and salaries is $750,000 or more.

Experts say even that maximum penalty of 8% of payroll could be such a good deal for employers that they'd rather pay it than buy health insurance for their workers. That would put those workers into a government-run plan."