Health insurance tax will burden business

In an effort to raise $100 million to help balance another budget deficit, the Corzine administration is poised to impose a 125 percent tax on health insurers throughout New Jersey.This legislation will have catastrophic results for a state in which 1.7 million residents currently lack health insurance and whose business community has been decimated by a crushing tax burden, inane bureaucracy and stifling regulations. This will lead to higher health insurance premiums for employers who provide coverage.
Small business employers, many of which offer their workers health insurance, will be particularly hard hit, as they already operate at small profit margins. This astronomical tax hike will force many to drop their coverage, adding to the state's growing list of uninsured workers and their families.
According to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association's annual Health Benefits Survey, for most of the state's smallest companies — those with two to 19 employees — sponsoring coverage already has fallen as costs have risen. This tax increase will be the nail in their coffins.
Gov. Jon Corzine and his Democratic colleagues contend competition will keep prices low, similar to the auto marketplace. That simply isn't true. In New Jersey, more than 70 automobile insurance companies compete for business. In contrast, only seven health insurance companies do the same — again, some by razor-thin profit margins.
The domino effect will be felt on the local government level as well. Since many municipalities purchase their health insurance in the public marketplace, their premiums also will increase, resulting in higher property taxes for homeowners.
While Democrats consistently harp about providing universal or at least more accessible health care, they have gone above and beyond the call to price health care out of any range of affordability in New Jersey. I'm sure we're not the only ones who see the irony in that.

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