Obama Administration Tries to Tie Healthcare Overhaul to Jobs

Attempting to tie job growth to new healthcare legislation – in the minds of the public if not in reality – the Obama administration is taking a new stance on the hot button issue. Diverting his attention for a while from the ongoing healthcare legislation battle being waged in Congress, the president has turned his attention to the American workforce. Among Obama’s considerations will be whether to extend unemployment and health benefits, though there is no word on whether Obama is considering a second economic stimulus package on top of the $787 billion that has already been laid out. Obama did note, among rising unemployment that he is considering "additional options to promote job creation."

Among the possibilities are extending unemployment benefits through beyond December 31, extending a tax credit for laid-off workers who purchase health insurance through a COBRA program and extending the popular first-time homebuyer tax credit. Lawrence Summers, an economic adviser to the president, noted, "I don’t know what the term ‘second stimulus package’ exactly means. We certainly need to continue to support people who are in need, whether it’s unemployment insurance, or a COBRA program that for the first time provides that people who are laid off get supported in being able to maintain their health insurance."

Barack Obama went out on a limb, however, when he claimed that new healthcare legislation would create more jobs. Obama specifically argued that more startups would be possible if those who would start the businesses were assured that they could stay insured. Said Obama, "I hear about it from small business owners who want to grow their companies and hire more people, but they can’t, because they can barely afford to insure the employees they have." Obama didn’t mention the stipulations in the current bill being debated that would require employers to provide health insurance or face a tax penalty – nor how the insurance requirement and government penalties would help small businesses flourish.