As a self-employed owner of a small business (s-corp), the government is going to pay for 35 percent of my health insurance costs -- and that will rise to 50 percent by 2014.
Starting with 2010 taxes, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees that pay at least 50% of the health care premiums for their employees qualify for a tax credit up to 35% of your premiums (50% after 2014 if you purchase insurance through an exchange). How much of a credit you'll get depends on the number of employees you have and their average wage. Gotcha alert: The tax deduction is not available to sole proprietors, so you may want a different corporate legal form.
This is pretty goddamn awesome. A 35 percent discount on health insurance starting right now!
Healthcare reform is going to be a huge generator of American entrepreneurship. Congress ought to be sending out the mailers and preparing the stump speeches now.