Small Business Is Latest Focus in Health Fight
As the number of people without health insurance continues to rise, many states and Congress have begun to focus on one of the biggest causes: the growing number of small business owners and their workers who are unable to afford coverage.
The states are taking a variety of approaches. To help ease the burden of insurance premiums that have roughly doubled since 2000, some, like Arizona, are extending tax credits to small employers that provide medical coverage.
Others, including New Mexico and Montana, are exploring ways to let small businesses band together to amass the purchasing power of big employers. Massachusetts plans to let small businesses benefit from its state-supervised insurance program. And some states, like Colorado, have passed tougher laws governing what insurers can charge small companies.
“States are being aggressive experimenters, and those lessons learned are going to be invaluable to us in looking at national health reform,” said Michelle Dimarob, manager of legislative affairs for the National Federation of Independent Business.
Congress, meanwhile, is considering legislation that, among other steps, would make it significantly easier for small businesses to organize insurance-buying pools. Despite bipartisan backing in both the House and Senate, it is uncertain whether the bills can be passed in this, an election year. But proponents say the legislation would almost certainly be reintroduced next term.
