The Power of A

Last week, forty-three House Democrats sent this letter to the House Democratic leadership asking that in the final House bill nonprofit organizations be included in any small employer subsidy.  Currently, the House bill (HR 3200) has a provision that any employer who has fewer than 25 employees whose average salary is under $40,000 that offers a credible level of health insurance coverage is eligible for a sliding scale tax credit.  However, since the credit is for income tax, all nonprofits that meet this definition of small employer would be ineligible to receive the same assistance for providing insurance that their for-profit counterparts would receive.

The two Senate health care bills do allow all small employers to receive support for providing insurance, regardless of tax status.  The Senate HELP bill provides a direct subsidy to qualifying small employers that can be given regardless of tax status.  The Senate Finance bill has a dual tract tax credit, where qualifying for-profit businesses would receive an income tax credit while qualifying nonprofits could take a withholding tax credit.

Quick Hits

The Senate bill could be unveiled this week - the Senate Majority Leader will send a few versions to the Congressional Budget Office today for scoring, and walk through the options with the caucus tomorrow… The Washington Post compares mandatory auto insurance and health insurance… The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee begins its work on the climate change bill