Some Hope on the Health Insurance Front
03 04 08 - 14:40
By Marci Alboher
It seems that some lawmakers in Washington have been listening to all our talk about the disastrous situation around health insurance for small businesses and the self-employed. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators - Olympia Snowe, Republican of Maine; Dick Durbin, the majority whip who is a Democrat from Illinois; Blanche Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas; and Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota - proposed legislation that seeks to reduce the cost and improve coverage options for small businesses. The bill is supported by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Realtors and the Service Employees International Union.
Here are some of the highlights of the bill, which is called the Small Business Health Options Program Act of 2008, according to a news release distributed by Senator Snowe's office:
Small employers who pay at least 60 percent of the premium would receive a tax credit of up to $1,000 for each covered employee ($2,000 for family coverage). A bonus would be available for employers who pay more than 60 percent of the premium.
Since self-employed individuals pay 100 percent of the premium, they would receive a tax credit of $1,800 ($3,600 for family coverage).
Coverage options would vary by state and be subject to state insurance regulation.
Ratings on health status would no longer be permitted in these small business insurance pools beginning in 2011. That would eliminate the large increases in premiums that small businesses often face when even one employee experiences a serious illness.
The self-employed would be able to participate in the pool, which would not allow insurers to permanently exclude coverage of pre-existing conditions, charge far more for minor health problems, or deny or refuse to renew coverage altogether.
Kurt Bardella, Senator Snowe's press secretary, says he believes the bill has a good chance of passage by the end of the year. If you would like to track the bill's progress, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ (which should be updated by this afternoon). You can search for a bill there by its number (in this case, Senate bill No. 2795), its name or the bill's sponsor.