Long Island Business News
A bill that could make it more affordable for small businesses to offer health care to employees has finally made it out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The legislation, which has the support of President Bush, enables business and trade associations to band their members together and offer affordable group health insurance on a national or regional basis.
The vote ended a more-than decade-long congressional stalemate on the issue.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, who chairs the health committee, said the bill could “transform health insurance to a market where small employers and family-owned businesses can demand better benefits at better prices.”
Yet the bill has its critics, who claim the legislation would circumvent state patient rights laws and undermine consumer protection. And even advocates seem to acknowledge that the legislation is not a cure-all. Enzi’s press release, for instance, claims that the bill would only “enable a million more workers to find coverage.”
More than 27 million of the 45 million uninsured are small business owners, their employees or dependents, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, a Washington-based advocacy group with 600,000 members.
On Long Island, an estimated 448,000 people are currently without health insurance, according to a recent study, said Pearl Kamer, chief economist for the Long Island Association. “Many are working and don’t have coverage.”
But the bill also has its supporters. A survey by Women Impacting Public Policy conducted this month found that 76 percent of its members believe Small Business Health Plans would help control costs. A Washington-based group with more than 550,000 members, WIPP will release the survey in mid-April.
SBHPs would “give participating small businesses the same buying power as
Fortune 500 companies and unions,” added Dan Danner, NFIB’s executive vice
president.
Strong critics include California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. In a March 24 letter to Enzi, Lockyer noted, “Allowing the states to set their own mandated benefits not only allows the states to deal with issues and health concerns of particular importance to their citizens, it also sets a level of care standard that every policy offer must meet.”
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer advocacy group, believes health-care costs would increase under the plan because patients would be forced to pay out of pocket for medically necessary treatment that insurers would no longer need to cover.
Others say the bill threatens access to cancer screenings and treatments, diabetes supplies and education, well-child care and more.
Advocates hope Enzi’s bill has enough momentum to pass in the Senate, which is expected to vote on the legislation in April or May.
