• NASE Speaks Out for Affordable Health Care
  at House Roundtable
  

NASE Speaks Out for Affordable Health Care at House Roundtable

To ensure your views were represented, the National Association for the Self-Employed explained the plight of the self-employed last week to elected officials and attendees at the House Roundtable concerning healthcare and small business. The NASE met with the Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI) and other small-business advocacy groups at the roundtable entitled, “Keeping America’s Small Businesses Healthy: How We Can Make Health Insurance Affordable.”

Velázquez indicated that the Roundtable was a precursor to a series of Committee hearings on healthcare. The NASE was there to represent the self-employed regarding the current state of healthcare, access to healthcare and the affordability of healthcare.

In discussing the state of healthcare faced by our nation’s small businesses and the self-employed, the NASE focused on the rising rate of the uninsured, especially among the self-employed and small business. The NASE viewpoint was substantiated by the National Coalition on Health Care, which reports that more than 60% of the uninsured are the dependents small-business employees.

Due to the high cost of health insurance, many small firms cannot offer health coverage to their employees. On average, a worker in a firm with less than 10 employees pays 18% more for health insurance than a worker in a firm with 200 or more employees. Health insurance premiums for small businesses are increasing at double-digit rates. In some areas, individual premiums are lower than small group premiums. Access to healthcare is also decreasing, most especially in rural areas. Insurance providers are steadily pulling out of the small group market because of low profits and compliance standards.

The NASE also discussed solutions to make healthcare more accessible and affordable for small business. One way to make healthcare more accessible and affordable would be to decrease the administrative burden on Association Health Plans (AHPs). Currently, AHPs are severely hampered because they must comply with 50 different sets of state insurance laws and regulations, raising the cost of insurance plans. Once this barrier is removed, the self-employed would have access to a wider variety of health insurance plans at more affordable rates because more insurance providers would participate in the small-business market. This action would be especially beneficial for individuals living in rural areas.

Currently, the NASE supports legislation that would address the accessibility and affordability of healthcare - H.R. 1774 and S.858, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2001. Reps. Ernest Fletcher (R-KY) and Cal Dooley (D-CA) and Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) introduced the legislation, which will strengthen and expand AHPs. The Small Business Health Fairness Act will provide small business entrepreneurs with the same tools that large employers and labor unions use to make health coverage affordable for employees. According to the Coalition Supporting Access & Choice, AHPs can reduce health insurance costs by 15% - 30% by allowing small businesses to join together to obtain the same economies of scale, purchasing clout, and administrative efficiencies now available to employees in large employer and union health plans. New coverage options for the self-employed and small business workers will promote greater competition and choice in health insurance markets. The tough new solvency standards protect patients’ rights and ensure benefits are paid.

The NASE also debated tax credits and incentives for small business owners and employees to assist with the rising cost of healthcare. The National Association of Health Underwriters suggested a refundable tax credit, which is an amount given to employees regardless of tax liability to assist in paying for individual health insurance or their share of employer-sponsored health insurance. The reason for a refundable tax credit is so that it will benefit the large number of the uninsured that are employed with either little tax liability or none at all.

The National Association for the Self-Employed supports H.R. 1774 and S. 858, the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2001. The NASE also supports legislation, which accelerates 100% deductibility of health insurance for the self-employed and/or provides tax credits to assist in making healthcare affordable for small businesses and the self-employed. Currently, small business represents 99.7% of all employer firms and 53% of the U.S. workforce. Also, the nation’s uninsured population currently totals 43 million and many of them are self-employed or employed by small business. In light of these facts, the NASE strongly feels that the success and well being of the self-employed and small business is dependent upon increasing access to and lowering the cost of healthcare.