Business / Tax

Access to Affordable Health Care

Issue
A major concern of the business community is the difficulty of finding affordable health insurance. Over 60 percent of the 45 million uninsured Americans own a small business, are employed by a small business, or are the dependent of an employer or employee. The need for increased access to health insurance options for small businesses is clear. Furthermore, sky-rocketing premiums are forcing more employers to stop providing health insurance. For example, average premiums for family coverage have increased by 119 percent since 1999.

Association-sponsored health plans are one option to help business owners and their employees gain much needed access to affordable, quality health benefits. Association-sponsored health plans enable businesses to band together across state lines, through bona fide trade associations, to achieve greater economies of scale, purchasing clout, and administrative efficiency when choosing health insurance.

ACEC is currently among the few trade associations that sponsor a nationwide health plan for both small and large engineering firms. ACEC’s health plan, formally known as the ACEC Life/Health Insurance Trust, represents a working example of how association-sponsored plans can be a competitive option for small businesses owners searching for quality, affordable health insurance. Approximately one-third of ACEC’s membership is enrolled in the Trust because of the high quality and affordable health insurance products it offers. In order to serve all ACEC members in every state, however, ACEC must comply with a myriad of state insurance regulations that add significant administrative burdens and costs. In some extreme cases, state regulations effectively prevent the Trust from offering competitive products to ACEC members — for example, small firms in Maryland cannot access the Trust because of conflicting state regulations.

The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 241), which was introduced in the 110th Congress, would have made it easier for ACEC and other associations to offer affordable, quality health insurance products to their members. Association members would have more flexibility to choose a plan that works best for them, and the streamlined regulatory reforms would reduce administrative costs, thus improving savings for consumers. Congress did not vote on H.R. 241.

ACEC Position
ACEC strongly supports legislation such as H.R. 241 and encourages the House and Senate to act on legislative initiatives that will allow businesses to pool together across state lines to purchase health insurance.