Health insurance company CEOs are nervous about the idea of Mitt Romney winning the election, according to an article in  LifeHealthPro, an insurance industry newsletter.

Insurance company executives are worried about Romney’s  pledge to repeal Obamacare because they have spent millions of dollars getting prepared for 2014, when the bulk of Obamacare begins.

You see, insurance companies like Obamacare – well, some of it. They don’t like the part that requires them to spend 80% of their premium revenue on their clients’ medical bills.  And they don’t like having to get approval for premium increases of 10% or more.

Insurance companies don’t mind the idea of accepting everyone for coverage, even with pre-existing conditions…. if everyone is required to buy health insurance.

According to the LifeHealthPro article:

Robert Laszewski, an industry consultant and blogger, says the tension is becoming unbearable. “I spend a lot of time in executive offices and board rooms, and they are good Republicans who would like to see Romney win,” said Laszewski. “But they are scared to death about what he’s going to do.”

…Obama’s law is starting to look more and more like a tangible business opportunity. In a little over a year, some 30 million uninsured people will start getting coverage through a mix of subsidized private insurance for middle-class households and expanded Medicaid for low-income people. Many of the new Medicaid recipients would get signed up in commercial managed care companies.

A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study estimated the new markets would be worth $50 billion to $60 billion in premiums in 2014, and as much as $230 billion annually within seven years.

Nearly every advertisement by every Republican candidate says they will “Repeal Obamacare!”.   Many of these candidates have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in  campaign donations from insurance companies and insurance industry PACs (political action committees).  Insurance companies don’t really want Obamacare repealed – just the parts they don’t like.

So if Mitt Romney becomes President, don’t expect him to follow through on his pledge to repeal Obamacare. He will tweak it and give the insurance companies what they want:  more customers, more profits, fewer regulations – and fewer protections for Americans who rely on their health insurance.

I have a client who owns a small company and provides health  insurance for his employees.  When I suggested he look into the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit, he said he was not aware of this program that is part of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”).

The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit takes effect this year (2010) and is designed to help small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations afford the cost of covering their employees and is specifically targeted for those with low- and moderate-income workers. The credit is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have. In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees.

To be eligible for the credit, employers must cover at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage, have less than the equivalent of 25 full-time employees and pay average annual wages below $50,000. Both taxable and tax-exempt organizations may qualify, but nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt will be eligible for a credit of only 25 percent of health care costs.

In 2014, the tax credit will increase to 50 percent of health care premium costs for small businesses and 35 percent for tax-exempt organizations.

For more information go to the IRS web page on the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit for Small Employers.