Owens talks Obamacare with business owners in Kingsbury [The Post-Star, Glens Falls, N.Y.]

Oct. 22--KINGSBURY -- Tim and Jane Havens have at least 20 reasons to be worried about the Affordable Care Act.

As owners of Falls Farm & Garden Equipment Co., which has about 20 employees, the duo shared their concerns Monday with U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh. He visited the business at the urging of U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, who suggested the visit after redistricting last year put Kingsbury in Owens' 21st Congressional District.

"We're honored to have you in our store, but I have to make sure you know that some of the philosophies of the Democrats are not exactly the philosophies of this gentleman," Havens said after a cordial greeting.

The conversation quickly turned to the Affordable Care Act, a law that has ended Havens' 30-year business practice of footing the entire bill for his employees to have health insurance.

"I took this very seriously when I started this business 31 years ago at the ripe old age of 20, and I knew the best thing a businessman could do is be responsible to his employees, his lenders and his community, and I've done that," Havens said, as Owens listened inside the business's showroom, filled with snowblowers, lawn mowers and myriad other machines.

"Of the 31 years we've been in business, 30 years we've provided health insurance for our employees -- long before anybody tried to force us to do so," Havens continued. "We knew it was the responsible thing to do."

But after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, Havens said his insurance rates began to rise at never-before-seen speeds as insurers began preparing for the law's implementation.

"The threat of (Obamacare) helped drive insurance premiums in anticipation of that law's passage to a point that was beyond our ability as a business to pay 100 percent anymore."

So now, Falls Farm & Garden employees have to contribute to the insurance cost, a fact that has prompted several to drop the insurance completely, Havens said.

"It has lowered their standard of living," he said.

Owens said he saw the Affordable Care Act, even with its flaws, as a way to put the brakes on insurance rates that had, for years, been rising at breakneck speed.

"I ran a law firm that had somewhere between 30 and 500 people at various times," Owens said to Havens. "We saw 10-percent increases for years before the health care bill was passed. It went on for certainly the mid-90s through 2009, when I left to do this.

"So, from that perspective, It seemed a reasonable attempt to me to try and rein that in. It was minimally 100 percent (increased costs) over a 10-year period."

Jane Havens voiced frustration over the law's complicated nature, saying it's difficult to know what the right decision will be for the business's employees.

The conversation turned to specifics of the Affordable Care Act, including how the law's provisions are funded.

The business owners also expressed concerns about the economy in general, lamenting the loss of hundreds of jobs throughout the region in the three decades Falls Farm & Garden has been in business.

After nearly an hour of respectful -- if not cordial -- conversation, Owens departed for another appointment. On the way out, he said he was glad he made the trip.

"I knew coming in that these folks probably would not agree with me on many subjects," he said. "It's fine. It's part of the job."

Havens said it was good to meet and speak with Owens, even if the conversation didn't leave him feeling better about Obamacare.

"I think the Affordable Care Act is a flawed thing, and unfortunately, when I talk to some people about it, they say, 'Well, people need coverage,'" he said. "Well yes, people do need coverage. But insurance companies are out of control, and we have suffered with double-digit increases, some as high as 30 percent, since this (Obamacare) first became a threat."

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