Ohio House passes healthcare mandates adding costs to small businesses

House targets Ohio’s small businesses for new health insurance mandates
Ohio House passes healthcare mandates adding costs to small businesses

All or part of the following statement may be attributed to Roger R. Geiger of the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio, the state’s leading small business association, regarding action by the Ohio House of Representatives to mandate healthcare coverage for autism and diabetes in state-regulated health insurance plans (House Bill 8 and House Bill 81): 

      “The Ohio House of Representatives today approved two measures that guarantee higher health insurance premiums for small businesses that could not have come at a worse time, as most small businesses are already coping with double-digit annual  increases in healthcare costs and the worst economic conditions in recent memory.  House Bill 8 and House Bill 81 mandate an unfair funding mechanism for autism and diabetes treatment that single out small businesses and individuals to foot the bill while large, self-insured and union-negotiated health insurance plans are shielded from such mandates by a pre-existing federal exemption.
     We support the families and individuals who are affected by autism and diabetes, yet we believe coverage for treatment can be achieved through a number of more fair and equitable options than the ones approved by the Ohio House of Representatives today. 
     Currently one in five workers in America does not have health insurance, the majority of whom work for small businesses or are small business owners. Yet, the Ohio House of Representatives just voted to make it even more difficult for the employees of small businesses, small business owners and individuals to find affordable healthcare coverage.
     With health insurance premiums already skyrocketing at an alarming rate, new state-mandated benefits will only drive more small businesses to drop health insurance altogether.”