Thursday, 3 April 2008
Senate Bill Would Provide Health Insurance Relief For Small Businesses
Four U.S. Senators recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide health insurance tax relief for small businesses and the self-employed.
Senators Dick Durbin, Olympia Snowe, Norm Coleman, and Blanche Lincoln all worked together to create the legislation.
The bill would give small businesses a $1,000 tax credit per employee if they pay for at least 60 percent of premiums. If an employee has family coverage, employers get $2,000.
Some states have small business health insurance pools, where private insurance companies are required to provide coverage.
The measure prohibits insurers from excluding pre-existing conditions, denying coverage, refusing coverage renewal, and considering health status in these pools, wrote a New York Times blog.
People who are self-employed also would get tax relief — $1,800 in tax credits if enrolled in an individual plan and $3,600 if they have a family plan. Self-employed workers would also be able to purchase health insurance from a small business pool.
The bill now has to work its way through the U.S. Senate. But because of higher priorities, the measure isn’t expected to come to a final vote until the end of the year.
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