Newberry: Congress Should Take Swift Action to Protect Small Businesses
Congress should take swift action to protect small businesses
By DAN NEWBERRY
Now that Congress has returned to Washington following its August recess, members need to take urgent action on legislation aimed at protecting Oklahoma small businesses.
In current law, the Affordable Care Act defines small market insurance groups as employers with 50 or fewer employees. However, on Jan. 1, 2016, the small group definition will be expanded to also include employers with 51-100 employees.
This change could be detrimental to Oklahoma small businesses. Insurance premiums will likely skyrocket as the small business pool expands and companies are subject to a whole new set of strict rating rules mandated by the the federal health-care law.
Many of these employers that now enjoy some flexibility in the price of premiums and benefit structures will see that stripped away in this pool. As a result, mid-size employers will choose to self-insure, an option that will allow them to retain some flexibility, rather than be subject to the law’s long list of essential health benefits that must be covered by their new plans in order to avoid fines. This will leave businesses that do not have the ability to self-insure in a smaller, more expensive pool. According to one study, this could force these businesses to face an average premium increase of 18 percent in 2016.