FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick Connor, Washington State Director, patrick.connor@nfib.org,
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

OLYMPIA, Wash., Nov. 20, 2025—NFIB Washington State Director Patrick Connor and Charity Farnworth, HR Director for NFIB-member company Motion Auto Supply, will testify today before the state Health Care Cost Transparency Board about the ever-increasing cost of providing health insurance to small business owners and their employees.

The hearing is scheduled to run between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., with Connor and Farnworth speaking toward the end at approximately 4:25 p.m. Today’s testimony will follow on the heels of yesterday’s testimony before the US Senate’s Finance Committee’s hearing on “The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for all Americans,” by NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations, Tyler Dever.

While both presentations covered similar ground, Connor offered several state-specific policy recommendations for the Board’s consideration, among them:

• Promoting price transparency and certainty
• Examining Small Group health insurance market conditions
• Revisiting small business plans through the Exchange
• Expanding Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs)
• Expanding access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Reducing one-size-fits-all mandates
• Targeting Cascade Care subsidies
• Addressing provider consolidation
• Increasing medical loss ratios (MLRs)

“When health care providers and insurers disclose the costs of their services and treatments, small businesses can make more informed decisions about which plans and providers to choose. Finding that information can be difficult, however,” said Connor in his testimony.

The written state testimony is available here. NFIB’s congressional testimony can be read here.

NFIB’s quadrennial Small Business Problems & Priorities report ranks the 75 difficulties of running a Main Street enterprise, and the cost and availability of health care has been the No. 1 issue nationally for 39 consecutive years. In February, NFIB released a policy paper titled, “Addressing the Health Insurance Affordability Crisis for Small Businesses.”

The findings reveal a dire prognosis for the small-group insurance market as employer-provided health coverage is becoming unsustainable for millions of small businesses and their employees. The report also highlights the top legislative solutions Congress should enact to provide relief for small businesses.

Keep up with the latest Washington state small business news at www.nfib.com or on X @NFIB_WA or on Facebook@NFIB.WA

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

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