Senate Bill 19 would allow employers to chip in for individual health insurance

Looking for answers on how to cover more employees who are without health insurance and who work for small businesses, the Senate Health and Human Services committee approved a measure today that seeks to accomplish just that.

Small business employers who cannot afford health insurance for their employees under the group market but want to provide some money for their employees to purchase a health insurance plan on their own, can do so under a recent ruling by Colorado’s Division of Insurance. Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, wants the ruling secured by law. His bill, Senate Bill 19, would do so.

“We need to find a way to insure more people,” said King. “This bill provides an alternative for small business employers to contribute toward an employee’s health insurance.”

Under the ruling, employers that don’t offer health plans and have fewer than 50 employees can contribute any amount of money, as long as it is distributed equally, into an employee’s Health Retirement Account. The HRA funds can then be used by an employee to purchase a health insurance premium or any other qualifying medical expenses. The money stays with the employee from year to year, much like an IRA account.

Tony Gagliardi, speaking for the Colorado chapter of National Federation of Independent Business, said small businesses welcome the opportunity to be able to afford some coverage for their employees.

“It’s another alternative or option for both employers and employees to gain access to health insurance,” said Gagliardi. “We’ve been trying a long time to get more people covered. This bill is one mechanism to help them do so.”

Speaking in opposition to the measure, A.W. Schnellbacher, a volunteer with the American Association of Retired Persons, said his organization was concerned that gravitation toward health insurance plans outside of the group market would prove detrimental.

“This could destroy the group market,” said Schnellbacher. “People will be shifted from the small group market to the individual market, where there will be cherry picking and lemon dropping.”

Voting against the measure was Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora who tried unsuccessfully to require a review in a few years to see if the HRA approach works.

“Any experimentation with a health insurance market that is volatile and changing without an evaluation process in place is not something I can support,” Carroll said.

Via - Colorado News Agency