Bucks County Small Business Providing Healthcare To Workers
By Jennifer Bernstein
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- For more than 40 years, Superior Woodcraft's cabinet makers and artisans have created and sold custom cabinetry. But the last few years haven't been easy, since this line of work closely follows the housing industry.
"What people fail to realize is probably about 70 percent of cabinet makers are currently not working as cabinet makers," said owner Patrick Kennedy.
Kennedy has done what was necessary to make sure this small business, which employs a little more than 50 people, survives.
One of the biggest challenges he faced was providing healthcare to workers in 2012. Kennedy immediately began to look at the company's bottom line.
"It was really a question of how much is it going to cost? How much can we afford to pay? Sharing- employees are going to have to share in that," said Kennedy.
It's a requirement many businesses will face. President Obama's health care law mandates employers with more than 50 employees provide coverage, or face steep fines starting in 2014.
Kennedy negotiated with vendors, and also made three percent of his full time positions part time.
Health care costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and takes up a significant portion of their expenses, but he says it's worth it.
Kennedy also uses preventative care to keep costs down, "we use doctors to come in, talk to our employees."
One of their main goals is to not pass the cost onto the customer, it's something Kennedy says the company will continue to strive for in 2013.
