NFIB

Last week, as the country observed Cover the Uninsured Week, 27 million members of the small-business community were still struggling to find affordable health insurance options. 

While big businesses shed jobs, small businesses continue to hire workers and contribute to the country's economic growth. However, Congress is neglecting the nation's job creators by failing to act on our No. 1 concern--ever-increasing health-care costs. We need small-business health-insurance reform.

NFIB recognizes that no single solution will provide health-care coverage for the millions of uninsured, and is fighting for comprehensive health-care reform for the small-business community. Insurance premiums for family coverage have increased by 87 percent over the last six years and, in some states, small-business owners have only one or two companies from which to choose.

Examples of legislation that NFIB supports includes:

• Market-based pooling arrangements/Small-Business Health Plans. Market-based pooling arrangements are one way to achieve lower administrative costs, larger purchasing clout and consistent benefit packages across state lines. This will lead to more affordability and choices in the purchase of health insurance for you and your employees. SBHPs would allow small-business owners to join together through membership in trade associations to purchase health insurance at bulk rates, helping to reduce the number of uninsured in our country and taking a large burden off the shoulders of the No. 1 job creators in the nation.
• Tax-based health-insurance incentives. To encourage participation, a standard tax deduction would be available to all individuals who purchase health-care coverage, regardless of whether they receive benefits through their employers or purchase coverage on their own. Also, the federal government could offer refundable tax credits to assist with the cost of coverage, and additional tax incentives could be made available for employers who provide health insurance.
• Medical liability reform. In many states, skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates have caused physicians' insurance premiums to increase to astronomical levels--and small business pays the price. Physicians who can't afford the high rates are forced to retire or move to neighboring states, medical schools find it difficult to provide insurance to doctors and students, and emergency rooms cannot staff as many doctors as necessary. The burden of all of these shortages eventually finds its way to the small-business owners as the cost to provide health care to your employees shoots higher each year.

Current health-care options for small business
So what options are out there for small business? Some consumer-directed health plans are available to help small-business owners and their employees take more control of their health-care dollars. The most common consumer-directed plans include:

• Health savings accounts. HSAs are tax-free savings plans that allow employees to pay for current health-care costs while saving for future medical expenses. Participants are not penalized for using their HSA funds for qualified medical expenses, and may carry over any unused funds to the next year. Both employers and employees may contribute to an HSA, and it can move with the employee in the event of a job change.
• Health reimbursement arrangements. HRAs are employer-funded accounts that reimburse employees for qualified medical expenses. After employees have paid for expenses out-of-pocket, they submit a claim and are reimbursed from money their employer has set aside for that purpose.
• Flexible spending accounts. FSAs are designed to let employees save pre-tax dollars to use later for co-pays, deductibles and other medical expenses not covered under their main health-insurance plan. The IRS requires that you forfeit any unused account balances remaining at the end of the year, making this less attractive than some other savings accounts such as HSAs, which allow you to carry over unused funds from year to year.

What you can do
Contact your lawmakers and tell them that small business needs health insurance reform. As the nation's No. 1 job creator, you deserve access to quality, affordable health care--and so do your family and employees.

For more information, visit NFIB.com or SHBPsNow.com.