Government
Bill would allow small businesses to buy insurance together
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 25, 2009
A bill introduced in the House May 13 would allow small businesses and the self-employed to form state or nationwide pools to buy health insurance.
The Small Business Health Options Program Act of 2009 would make health insurance more affordable and predictable by pooling risk across a larger population, said bill sponsor Rep. Ron Kind (D, Wis.). About 47 million people work in 5.8 million small businesses in the U.S. Another 14 million are self-employed.
"If we are going to address the lack of health care coverage in this country, we have to look out for small businesses," Kind said.
The measure also would provide tax credits to small business owners who offer employee coverage and would forbid insurers from rating health plans based on health status or previous patient claims. Similar, so-called association health plan bills have been introduced in previous congresses but have not been successful. The latest measure has 29 co-sponsors, including 12 Republicans.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/05/25/gvbf0525.htm.
