The Power of A

According to ASAE’s Policies and Procedures in Association Management, the median association has 10 full time employees, meaning a majority of associations are also categorized as small businesses. Today’s New York Times article on the lack of discussion on health care reform for small business should be uncomfortable for these associations.

According to the article, about half of the nation’s uninsured work for a small business or are self-employed but the major insurance companies lack proposals to address increased coverage for this market. The article suggests that the lucrative nature of providing insurance for the small business market makes insurers hesitant to propose reforms. “These markets generally work,” said Bradley Fluegel of WellPoint in the article. “They are well regulated by states today.”

Michelle Dimarob, manager of legislative affairs for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), disagrees: “If you truly want to build off the strength of the employer-based system and want comprehensive health reform and access to quality affordable health care, why would you only fix the individual market?”

Associations in 2008 faced on average an 11% increase in health care premiums, according to the ASAE Compensation and Benefits Study, so the problems in the small business market hit associations along with for-profit businesses. ASAE is on-board supporting The Small Business CHOICE Act (and the SHOP Act) to help alleviate these problems, but will these proposals get to the heart of the problem? Can allowing small businesses to create insurance pools (in the primary care or catastrophic markets) help alleviate the yearly double-digit premium increases?

Quick Hits

The Obama Administration hints it will not oppose removing the employer tax-exemption on health insurance plans to pay for reform……but it looks like it will leave it to outside groups to push for a “public plan” insurance company……..President indicates affection for MedPAC reform, or creation of a health care federal oversight board……HELP committee bill will include individual mandate and likely public option, according to Sen. Bingaman (D-NM).