Blueprints for a health care fix

How the national policy debate will affect your business.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)

us_capitol_lowangle.ce.03.jpg
Do you get health care coverage from your employer?
  • Yes
  • No, my company doesn't offer it
  • No, I can't afford it
  • No, I'm covered elsewhere
Photos
Health care help: New for 2009 Health care help: New for 2009 Health care help: New for 2009
The federal government hasn't come up with a plan to make health insurance accessible and affordable to small businesses - so many states are taking action on their own. We have the rundown on 8 new initiatives.

(Fortune Small Business) -- Barack Obama made health-care reform a central promise of his presidential campaign. But the shape any change takes will probably depend as much on Congress as on the new president's plans.

"Unlike in 1993, Congress will own this debate," predicts Len Nichols, director of health policy for the New America Foundation, based in Washington, D.C.

Several existing bills could become the cornerstone of eventual health-care reform. The Healthy Americans Act would eliminate employer-based insurance and require all Americans to purchase private insurance plans through new, state-run regulatory agencies. To subsidize coverage for low- and middle-income earners, a new tax would be levied on businesses, with smaller firms paying lower rates.

Other proposals include the Small Business CHOICE Act and the Small Business Health Options Program Act, each of which would open up insurance pools and provide subsidies to small firms.

The most likely blueprint could be the "Call to Action" issued by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., last fall. The proposal echoes Obama's support for government-sponsored insurance pools to make cheaper plans available to more small businesses and individuals.

Unlike Obama's plan, however, the Baucus blueprint would make participation mandatory. Proponents say mandates are critical to lowering premiums, because they expand the pool and keep healthy individuals in the system. Large insurers recently suggested adopting mandatory coverage as a trade-off for eliminating discrimination based on pre-existing conditions.

Nichols predicts "a two-year conversation" before sweeping health-care reform is ready for consideration, and the recent economic nosedive hasn't changed his opinion.

Small business should remain central to that discussion, says economist Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.: "There is broad interest in helping small employers and their workers because so many of them are uninsured."  To top of page

To write a note to the editor about this article, click here.




QMy dream is to launch my own business someday. Now that it's time to choose a major, I'm debating if I should major in entrepreneurial studies or major in engineering to acquire a set of skills first. Is majoring in entrepreneurship a good choice? More
Get Answer
- Spate, Orange, Calif.

Sponsors
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.