ACEC President Dave Raymond met at the White House on Thursday with Administration officials responsible for health care reform.

“I communicated our support for reasonable reform but raised concerns about certain provisions in the House bill that would increase the costs to businesses providing coverage for their employees,” said Raymond, who was one of a select group of association leaders invited to the White House meeting.

“I voiced the Council’s concern over mandates in the House bill that would reduce employers’ flexibility and raise their costs in several ways,” Raymond said. “For example, one provision requires firms to pay 65 percent of family coverage costs, whereas many firms—and in fact the ACEC/National office—only pay 50 percent of family coverage.”

Another provision requires firms to offer benefits that have yet to be specified, leaving it up to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine what those benefits will be. “We clearly cannot support such a mandate without knowing the specific benefits and how much they will cost,” Raymond said.

Raymond recommended several cost-control measures that are not included in the House bill:

• Private sector “cooperative” approaches, such as the ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust, which allow members to create health insurance purchasing pools to reduce costs.

• Increased competition across state lines, which would allow consumers to benefit from a wider range of insurance options and thereby reduce costs.

• Reasonable limits on medical malpractice liability as a means of controlling costs.

The health care legislation passed by the House of Representatives last weekend raises serious concerns for ACEC and other business organizations about the rising cost of health insurance.

“The vast majority of the nation’s engineering firms already do the right thing and provide their employees with insurance,” said ACEC President Dave Raymond. “We’re concerned that the House-passed bill does very little to help those firms, and instead imposes new mandates that will make providing insurance more expensive.”

The House bill (H.R. 3962) would require employers to provide health insurance containing mandated benefits. It would limit cost-sharing for employees and mandate that employers pay at least 72.5 percent of the premium for individual coverage and 65 percent of the premium for family coverage. Employers with an annual payroll over $500,000, whose health insurance plans do not meet these requirements, would pay a penalty of 8 percent of their payroll.

The legislation would also create a health insurance exchange for individuals and small businesses; establish a government-run health insurance plan for those who do not receive insurance from their employer; mandate that individuals purchase insurance; and establish reforms for the insurance industry.

The bill offsets the increased expenditures by adding a 5.4 percent surtax on individuals who earn more than $500,000, and on married couples who earn more than $1 million, as well as by reducing spending on Medicare and Medicaid.

“We hope the Senate takes a more balanced approach,” added Raymond, “and crafts a bill that includes meaningful reforms to hold down health care costs.”

The Senate is expected to begin debating health care reform in the next few weeks. For more information, click here to access ACEC’s Health Care Reform Resource Center.

ACEC President Dave Raymond explains to MO leaders how the Council is achieving its strategic goals.

ACEC Chairman Tim Psomas, President Dave Raymond and the Council’s professional staff briefed ACEC leaders representing 32 Member Organizations during the 2009 Leadership Orientations, held at ACEC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“The meeting was very worthwhile to gain a better perspective of what the whole ACEC organization does for the profession and the Member Organizations,” said James O’Connor, vice president of ACEC/South Carolina.

The Leadership Orientations featured one-and-a-half day briefings held over three consecutive weeks. Presenters outlined ACEC’s services and programs and described how the Council can work with the state leadership to promote common goals.

“These are very strong and thorough sessions,” said Bret Farmer, president of ACEC/Minnesota.

Participants in the October 29-30, November 5-6 and November 12-13 briefings are listed below:

ACEC/Arkansas Barry McCormick, Vice President Angie Cooper, Executive Director ACEC/Colorado William C. Hoffmann, Jr., President-Elect ACEC/Connecticut George L. Jacobs, President Paul Brady, Executive Director ACEC/Florida Andrew Cummings, President-Elect Charles L. Geer, National Director ACEC/Georgia William R. Toole, President Thomas D. Gambino, President-Elect Gwen Brandon, Executive Director ACEC/Hawaii Sheryl E. Nojima, President-Elect Douglas B. Lee, Secretary ACEC/Illinois Pedro J. Cevallos-Candau, President-Elect ACEC/Indiana John W. Brand, Alternate National Director ACEC/Kansas Sid Arpin, President-Elect ACEC/Kentucky Karen J. Wood, President Scott L. Murray, President-Elect George M. Binder, Executive Director ACEC/Louisiana Constantine F. Nicoladis, President-Elect Daniel E. Mobley, Executive Director ACEC/Maryland Michael Myers, President Joseph S. Makar, Vice President George Wirth, National Director Jim Otradovec, Executive Director ACEC/Metro Washington David J. Greenwood, President Eric B. Rehwoldt, President-Elect Hugh “Mac” Cannon, Executive Director ACEC/Michigan Andrew McCune, President-Elect ACEC/Minnesota Bret M. Farmer, President Douglas G. Tholo, National Director David E. Oxley, Executive Director ACEC/Mississippi Wayne Morrison, President James L. Hust, III, President-Elect

ACEC/Missouri Phillip E. Borrowman, Chairman-Elect ACEC/Nebraska Martin J. Wiedenman, President-Elect Jackie McCullough, Executive Director ACEC/New Hampshire Michael Penney, President-Elect Alistair P. MacDonald, National Director ACEC/New Jersey Lissette Miquel, Chairman-Elect Thomas M. Howell, National Director ACEC/New Mexico Dawn Tibbetts, Executive Director ACEC/New York Robert Radley, President Neil Lucey, President-Elect ACEC/North Carolina Thomas Burchett, President-Elect Kathryn Sawyer Westcott, Executive Director ACEC/North Dakota Jeffry J. Volk, President-Elect ACEC/Ohio James Van Ostran, Vice President ACEC/Pennsylvania Steven B. Bolt, President-Elect Jill Thompson, Government Affairs Chair ACEC/Greater Pittsburgh Patrick F. O’Hara, National Director ACEC/South Carolina James O’Connor, Vice President Matthew Lewis Silveston, Secretary/Treasurer ACEC/Tennessee Steve Bostic, President-Elect Judy Logue, Membership Director ACEC/Utah Lee Cammack, President-Elect Dale K. Bennett, Treasurer Michael Smith, Executive Director ACEC/Virginia Raymond A. DeStephen, President-Elect ACEC/West Virginia Darrell L. Buttrick, Executive Director ACEC Life/Health Trust Gregg S. Ten Eyck, Trustee ACEC Retirement Trust John J. Molloy, Trustee