Gerlach Working with Bipartisan Coalition to Expand Access, Lower Cost of Health Insurance Coverage

By THE OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN JIM GERLACH (R-6)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Jim Gerlach (PA-6th District) joined a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, small business owners and labor groups Wednesday in reintroducing the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act.

Gerlach is the lead Republican sponsor of H.R. 2630. The legislation is sponsored by Congressman Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin).

The legislation would lower health care costs for small businesses and family farmers by allowing them to band together to obtain lower premiums, provide tax credits for small business owners to offset contributions to employee premiums, and ban health status rating in order to protect businesses from large rate increases simply because one employee gets sick.

“The rising cost of health insurance is a challenge for every employer in my district,” Gerlach said. “That’s why I am pleased to be working side by side with Congressman Kind again on enacting a bipartisan solution for expanding access to health insurance coverage for families and lowering costs for employers.”

Gerlach said preventing premium spikes combined with tax credits of up to $1,800 per year for self-employed individuals should help make insurance more affordable.
“The SHOP Act would put healthcare coverage within reach for millions of self-employed and small-business owners who want to provide competitive benefits to attract the most talented and skilled workers, but often lack the resources to do so,” Gerlach said. “It is my hope that as Congress begins to weigh the options for reforming our healthcare system, all voices will be heard and all ideas receive fair consideration.”

The SHOP Act would make health insurance less costly, more predictable, and more accessible for the 47.1 million employees of the nation’s 5.8 million small businesses, including family farms, and for the 14.1 million self-employed individuals in America by:

·        Allowing small businesses and the self employed to band together in a statewide or nationwide pool to obtain lower health insurance prices by spreading their risk over a larger number of participants.
·        Keeping prices low by offering a range of private health plans that have to compete for business.
·        Providing small business owners with an annual tax credit of up to $1,000 per employee ($2,000 for family coverage) if they pay for 60 percent of their employees’ premiums, and a bonus tax credit if they pay for more than 60 percent of the premiums. Self-employed individuals would get a $1,800 annual tax credit ($3,600 for family coverage) to purchase health insurance.
·        Cutting down on administrative costs for small businesses – today, small businesses spend almost 25 percent of health insurance premiums on administrative costs, compared to 10 percent for large employers.
·        Banning the practice of rating insurance based on health status and claims experience so that premium increases will be more stable and predictable.
·        Providing a Web site with comparative information about a variety of private health plans.
·        Putting in place accountability measures that rely on the proven oversight of state insurance commissioners to ensure that all health plans meet state requirements for financial solvency, network adequacy, and claims and appeal procedures.

This bill has received support from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Service Employees International Union, National Association of Realtors, and National Restaurant Association, Families USA, and National Partnership for Women and Families.

“For so many small business owners the cost of healthcare is unsustainable,” said Dan Danner, president and CEO, National Federation of Independent Business. “SHOP is a bipartisan, bicameral bill that pursues uniform insurance market reforms greatly needed for our nation’s job creators. It explores new pooling options aimed at improving competition, creates new ways for small business owners to access affordable healthcare options and gives individuals the ability to choose their own plan. We commend Congressmen Kind (WI), John Barrow (GA), Gerlach (PA) and Bill Young (FL) for their continued leadership on this important issue. Enacting solutions specific to the diverse small business community is critical to advancing meaningful reform.”

“The current economic crisis shows just how broken America’s healthcare system is – too many hardworking people are struggling to afford care or being crushed by skyrocketing costs,” said Andy Stern, President of SEIU. “As we move toward comprehensive health care reform, this bill has important ideas of ways to help small businesses & help millions of workers, including tens of thousands of SEIU child care workers, afford the health coverage they need.”

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May 13, 2009 at 3:13 pm

--pa2010.com Staff