Vote on Tuesday--is it important

The election to replace Ted Kennedy is one to watch--or so they say. If the Republican were to win then the Senate would have 41 votes and health reform may be cut off at the finish line. If the Democrat were to win--well things will probably move forward. However, if the election is close--it may sway a few (on the Senate side it will only take one) Democrats to retreat on voting for reform. Another thing to watch--if the Democrat were to win by 53% of more--watch for that to be noted as an endorsement for reform.

As for reform--one important item to watch is for the House to ultimately approve the Senate version. If this happens then there are no future roll call votes in the Senate and the President can sign the bill into law. House members may force some issues at that point in a procedural move related to the budget called reconcilation. We have discussed this in the past.

As we have said from the outset--we expect reform to happen. Granted it appears more and more like insurance reform as opposed to reforming all parts of the system.

For our clients--employers with less than 1000 employees--this means more paperwork, more rules to follow and more confusion for employees. We are intent on focusing on these issues and developing clear understandings of how to navigate through these issues. Already we are at work on education seminars for early spring.

more to come...