Last month Massachusetts made headlines when the state's governor, Mitt Romney, said he will sign legislation aimed at providing nearly universal health care coverage for its citizens. Now entities in three states that want a similar guaranteed level of coverage for small business employees are working determinedly to make that a reality.
In Kansas, Democrats in the state's House of Representatives created a proposal to let businesses with 30 or fewer employees enroll in the state employee health benefit program. Democrats tried to push it through the house as part of another bill, but it stalled in committee when Republicans argued that Democrats should wait on their proposal until the the Kansas Health Policy Authority offers its recommendations on health policy and the uninsured.
In Maine, a bill called the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act" hit the Senate floor this week. The legislation would allow employers to join together through fully-insured trade and professional associations to buy health coverage. Although it's too early to tell the outcome of this bill, the board of Portland's Regional Chamber voted unanimously to urge Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to support it.
And in Florida, the National Federation of Independent Business has said almost 14,000 of its Florida members and small-business owners have submitted signed petitions asking Senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson to support small-business health plan legislation. This state's Senate is preparing to take up the same bill as mentioned above for Maine on May 8.
We would be interested in reading what governmental or civic groups in your state are doing to promote legislation that would give greater health care coverage to small businesses.
— Winning Workplaces, May 05, 2006 | Add your thoughts