RED ALERT: New Hampshire Tourism Industry Could Get “Hammered” by Obamacare

Employers Could be Hit by $1 Million in Fines

“The state’s seasonal tourism industry is only now beginning to realize that it could get hammered by the new health care reform law.

“The bill signed into law on Tuesday by President Barack Obama fines businesses that do not provide health insurance to full-time employees who work more than 120 days a year. The assessment is $2,000 per employee, which, according to SkiNH lobbyist Bruce Berke and group president Alice Pearce, could mean as much as $1 million in fines to the big ski resorts, some of which hire as many as 500 seasonal workers.

“Also affected would be any business that hires on a seasonal basis, and, like most nationally, do not offer health insurance.

“Pearce said the original Senate health care bill contained only a $750-per-employee fine, which kicked in after a worker was employed 150 days. That exempted most ski areas, she said.

“But the House tightened it to $2,000 and 120 days.”

“In Colorado, a Steamboat Springs official said it could cost that resort as much as $2 million a year.”

(John DiStaso, “Ski Resorts Worry Health Care Reform Will Have Chilling Effect,” New Hampshire Union Leader, 3/25/10)

By Code Red