President Trump may be facing a repeal and replacement of Obamacare that is more difficult and promises to take longer to unfold than he had assumed before taking office. But mid-market CEOs are very clear about what they want him to do: Press on—and hurry up!
The premium-cost increases, insurers’ woes and other confusion wrought by the Affordable Care Act in the last few years left many mid-market employers frustrated and—since Election Day—urgently awaiting the relief that Donald Trump promised.
Trump indeed must “start over” with a federal approach to healthcare, asserted Eric Casaburi, CEO of Retro Fitness gyms. “It’s like anything else: if your house goes through a flood, you’re better off leveling it versus just tearing it down to the studs. Obamacare is broken.”
One reason is “the pain from Obamacare has created such confusion and fear by the insurance providers that they hope for the best but charge for the worst,” said Nick Turner, co-CEO of the recruiting company Kaye/Bassman International. “We were slammed with renewals that were in excess of 40 percent.”
Don Fox, CEO of Firehouse Subs, said that Obamacare “has to change. With meaningful changes, I could be in a better position to offer benefits that are more meaningful to my
employees. And more of them could afford to accept insurance.”
“That’s a big deal for us,” added Jeff Dudan, CEO of AdvantaClean, an environmental-services franchisor. “And it’s even a bigger deal for our franchisees, many of whom are first-time business owners and don’t know how to deal with this.”
David Cobb dismissed concerns that, if the ACA is axed, many Americans will go without insurance. Stopgap measures will be taken, for one thing. “And there already are many
people who are insured in name only, the deductibles are so high,” said the CEO of MMI Outdoor, a military-gear manufacturer. “We had a top-flight insurance plan before [Obamacare] but we had to scale it back because of the massive premium increases. So now our employees have to do partial self-insurance.”
And while candidate Trump said he wanted to preserve Medicare more or less in its present form, Paul Kusserow insisted that President Trump “be careful” not to disrupt Medicare inadvertently. “He’ll have to be careful about this,” said the CEO of Amedisys, a hospice and home-care concern, “because a lot of his constituency is pretty dependent on Medicare and seem to like it the way it is.”
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
0
1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
