The assault on your recession-depleted check book continues.

Schools want more money, city governments too, state government is $8 billion in debt and we don’t yet know what more they want and the federal government, mired in a $13.7 trillion deficit, hasn’t yet found the political will to tap your wallet, but it will.

Amid all this uncertainty, there is one other constant increase—health insurance will go up. Expect an increase in your premium in 2011.

Martin Connors, vice-president of Brooks Insurance, a Toledo agency that offers employee benefit programs, says business should expect a 14 to 20 percent increase in health care costs.

Two local small businessmen would have settled for that increase. Alan Miller of Alan Miller Jewelers in Oregon saw his health insurance increase 46 percent and Bob Graham of Tri County Tire in Jerusalem Township saw a 26 percent increase.

Three other small businesses contacted declined to share numbers other than to say they have experienced significant increases for their 2011 renewal.

In Miller’s case, his family plan to cover his wife and four adult children increased from $1,600 to $2,300 a month, a $8,400 increase for 2011. That has Miller scrambling to cut costs to absorb the increase.

Graham now pays $80,000 a year to cover 16 to 17 employees. An employee on the family plan pays $440 a month. Graham can remember the years between 1985 and 1995 when Tri County paid for all employees’ health coverage and there was no deductible. Graham has not passed on this year’s additional costs to employees, however, the increase has affected his hiring practices. He says he used to have 23 to 24 employees but he can’t afford to hire more. He says his employees are doing the work of one and half workers.

“I’m a tire man. I’m not an insurance guy. Outside of my payroll, it’s the biggest expense I have. It’s bigger than my payment to the bank for my mortgage on the building and property. It’s horrible.”

Even those in the public sector are feeling the effects of rising health care costs, albeit, not nearly as much as those who work in the private sector. For example, City of Oregon employees have seen their premiums rise almost seven percent this year. An employee on the family plan pays $124.43 per month, up from $116.88, according to finance director Kathy Hufford. There is no deductible.

As more and more of the “Obama health care bill,” ironically entitled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, phases in, expect higher costs to small business and eventually to you the employee.

Connors says the new law did little to address rising costs. The health insurance providers he works with are concerned about the added costs of the following changes that went into affect September 23, or will go into will affect January 1, depending on your plan:

•Lifetime maximums on benefits have been eliminated;

•Pre-existing conditions have been eliminated for children under age 19;

•Adult children up to age 26 can now be covered by a parental plan, if not covered by an employer plan;

•Co-pays are eliminated for in-network preventative services such as diabetes and cholesterol tests, flu shots and well-baby and child checks;

Some existing health care plans are grandfathered and these new requirements don’t apply. Check with your employer or health insurance carrier.

Connors said insurance companies are also concerned about the additional clerical costs the bill imposes on insurance companies. Companies will have to add new codes to the explanation of benefits statement a patient receives after a hospital discharge. To give you an idea of the workload that entails, one insurance company he works with processes 93,000 claims a day. Companies will also be required to spend 80 to 85 percent of their premium revenue on health care, leaving the rest for administrative costs and profit. And, they’ll be required to produce the paperwork to prove it. In addition, in 2013, employers would have to report on an employee’s 1040 form the value of the health care coverage they receive.

“This has been insurance reform, not health care reform,” Connors said. But, the former vice-president of Mercy St. Charles Hospital welcomes some of the changes such as eliminating pre-existing conditions and insuring the underemployed.

“Some of the stuff they just did is okay. It does help people…The other stuff coming down the line is moving us toward a national health care. I’m pretty sure that’s not good for the people.”

Whether this new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act proves to be affordable in the long run is still up for debate, but early indications suggest you should keep a close eye on your wallet.

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