POLITICS

Would Senate bill help or hurt health care for small businesses?

There are two issues involved in the debate over the federal Health Insurance Marketplace Moderniza-tion Affordability Act of 2006 — Senate Bill 1955. The bill, despite opposition from consumer groups, passed the Senate May 9 by an overwhelming 96-2 vote.

The first concerns the value of allowing small businesses to join together to use their joint purchasing power to get better rates on employee health insurance if that insurance does not guarantee that certain important screenings and treatments are covered.

The second is whether a federal one-size-fits-all federal health insurance plan is the best option for han-dling the kind of workplace diversity that exists in the country.

Small-business organizations across New Hampshire and the nation are enamored with the proposed federal legislation. “Access to affordable health care is the No. 1 issue for small-business owners,” said Bruce Berke, New Hampshire state director of the nearly 3,000-member National Federation of Inde-pendent Business. “The Senate has a critical opportunity to make a real difference for small businesses, their employees and their families. Every day, we hear from small-business owners struggling to provide health insurance for their employees, and they need help now.”

The Associated Builders and Contractors agreed. “S. 1955 would address the problem of the working uninsured head-on by allowing small businesses to pool their risks with those of similar businesses to purchase health insurance at more competitive rates, just as large companies do today,” the group said in a recently released press statement. “Small-business health plans would consistently maintain the highest quality standards from state to state, while expanding competition. This combination of value and af-fordability is a win-win situation for millions of working Americans and the small businesses that employ them.”

The builders group applauded U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg for his support of this legislation. The Home Build-ers and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, which also supports the bill, congratulated 1st Dis-trict U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley on his support of the bill. But N.H. Gov. John Lynch, Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Maine 1st District U.S. Rep. Tom Allen and 39 attorneys general from around the country, including Maine and New Hampshire, have a different opinion. They, along with AARP, the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association think the bill would increase small-business health insurance costs and weaken state health-care protections for consumers.

They say the proposed federal legislation would allow insurance companies to charge dramatically higher rates for small businesses, prevent state governments from protecting consumers, and could end guarantees that health insurance companies cover certain procedures, such as cancer screenings. “This bill is not a solution to our nation's health-care problems,” Lynch said. “This federal legislation will only make it more difficult for New Hampshire’s small businesses to continue to offer health insurance to their workers.”

And a letter sent to all members of the U.S. Senate by the attorneys general echoed those sentiments. “Consumers rightfully expect their state government to require a minimum of health-benefit protections and to protect them from abuse by health-care insurers,” the group wrote in its April 27 letter. “Elimination of strong state protections in exchange for weak federal oversight fails consumers.”

Statistics indicate that 41 percent of Americans earning between $20,000 and $40,000 annually are unin-sured, a number that has gone up 28 percent in the last five years. Here in New Hampshire, which is home to more than 133,000 small businesses, 62 percent of the working uninsured are employed in firms with fewer than 10 employees, one-quarter of whom are self-employed. It is obvious something must be done. But what value is health insurance that does not cover the most vital — and costly — treatments and procedures, that allows pooling of the young and healthy while leaving the elderly and sick out in the cold, and that does not allow states to address the unique needs of their citizens?

Senate Bill 1955 is legislation that supports the insurance companies. It does nothing to alleviate the problems of the escalating number of working people who are uninsured in this state, this region and this country.

Shir Haberman is the managing editor for news at the Portsmouth Herald.