Small firms divided over public health plan - Washington Business Journal: Washington Bureau

modestofyeyko.blogspot.com
Legislation expected to move througgh the Senate in the next couple of monthss would establish a nationap health insurance exchange that would enable small businesses and individuals to shop for the best One of the major issue to be resolved is whethera government-rub insurance plan, like Medicare, should join private-sector insuranced plans on the exchange's menu of The National Federation of Independent Business opposes including a publicv plan in the exchange. It fears a government-runb plan would undercut privatre insurers and end up leading to less competitionh in theinsurance marketplace.
"There would be very littled left of the private saidKaren Ignani, president and CEO of America's Healt h Insurance Plans, a trade association representing insurers. Some conservatives also fear a public plan eventually would lead toa single-payer system, wher the government is the only providerf of health insurance. Some small business owners, support a public plan. David Borris, owne r of Hel's Kitchen Catering in Ill., told the House Ways and Means Committeew April 22 that smallbusinesses "already have enoug h bad choices -- high-deductible, low-benefit plans that are barelyh worth the paper they're written on.
" "For businessesx that don't have good options now, offer the choic of a public health insurance plan," he "This will give us greater bargaining power and encourage competition among insurers to make costs affordable." A study by the Lewin Group for the Commonwealth Fund estimates that a publif plan could offer small businesses insurancre that is at least 9 percent cheaper than current small business policies. Savings could ranged up to 30 percent if the publicd plan pays Medicare rates to provider and Congress makes other reformsz to the health care thestudy concluded.
John Holohan, directo r of the Urban Institute's Health Policy said a publicplan "has to be part of the if Congress wants to be serious about containing healtg care costs. Not all private insurance plans will survivre thisnew competition, but the best ones will, he Private insurers probably would provide better service and betteer access than a public plan, at a slightly higheer cost, he said.
"A lot of people will want to be in Holohan said of private Todd McCracken, president of the Nationap Small Business Association, thinksw other reforms -- such as requiring everyone to have insurance and enabling small businesses to buy a minimuk benefits package -- would make a public plan "We're skeptical of the need for a publi plan," he said. John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Businesxs Majority, said a public plan option probably woulrdbe good, but many other issues surrounding health care costss and coverage are "way more important." The most importan issue for Brian England, co-owner of Britis American Auto Care in Columbia, Md., is getting everyone covered.
England was one of the smalp business owners who participated in an April 24 roundtabl discussion on health care reform at theWhite "Everybody has to bear some of the England said. "I'm doing the ethically right thing, but it's a burden. Evert year it gets harder and harder." For more see