A Legislative Framework for Meaningful Reform
The coalition supports a number of proposals that will help small businesses afford care.
Small Business Health Plans and Market-Based Pooling Arrangements
- Legislation creating Small Business Health Plans would allow business owners to join together across state lines through membership in trade and professional associations to purchase health insurance at bulk rates.
- Market-based pooling arrangements are one way to achieve lower administrative costs, greater purchasing clout, and consistent benefit packages across state lines. This leads to increased affordability and choices in the purchase of health insurance for business owners and their employees.
- Provide employees with tax credits to assist with the cost of employer-provided healthcare coverage.
- Provide employers, the self-employed and other individuals with additional credits or deductions to assist with the cost of health insurance.
- Health reimbursement arrangements, flexible spending accounts, and cafeteria plans are also aimed at helping business and their employees pay for healthcare expenses. These plans provide the consumer with the choice to control costs and spend healthcare dollars as they see fit.
- Health Savings Accounts are pre-tax medical savings accounts paired with high-deductible health insurance plans that allow individuals to save for future medical expenses. In 2005, changes to HSAs were signed into law that make it even easier and more affordable for business owners and employees to take advantage of these accounts.
- While mandates make health insurance more comprehensive, they also make it more expensive. The Coalition wants small businesses to be able to purchase benefit coverages that can be tailored to the needs of their workforce.
- In order to allow employers to offer uniform benefit options, some relief from the broad range of state-by-state mandates must be granted, while still ensuring that employees receive comprehensive plan options.
