Requiring Employers To Provide Health Coverage to Workers Would Hurt Small Businesses in Current Economic Climate, Witnesses Say at House Panel Hearing

Witnesses at a House Committee on Small Business hearing on Wednesday said that requiring small-business owners to provide health coverage to their employees would hinder their ability to withstand the economic recession, CQ HealthBeat reports.

Janette Davis -- president and CEO of Southeast American Financial Group, who testified on behalf of the U.S Women's Chamber of Commerce -- said, "Do not mandate that (small-business owners) have to provide coverage because if they are struggling to survive, that would further destroy them." R. Michael Beene of the National Association for the Self-Employed said his organization is against coverage mandates because it would shut down millions of small businesses and result in millions of job losses. "An individual mandate would be harmful," Beene said, adding, "A mandate requiring all citizens to have health coverage may be more workable in the future if paired with a meaningful subsidy such as a health tax credit to help with affordability."

Alissa Fox, senior vice president of policy and representation for BlueCross BlueShield Association, said that states should enact policies that simplify shopping for coverage, increase competition and educate consumers. She added that tax credits, subsidies and employer incentives would help more businesses offer coverage.

Committee Chair Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) said she and committee ranking Republican Sam Graves (Mo.) plan to introduce a bill -- identical to one during the last Congress -- intended to make health care affordable for small businesses by providing tax incentives and permitting small businesses to join together to purchase health coverage for their employees. Velazquez said, "I understand there is significant concern about whether health care reform will include mandates that small firms offer coverage. This issue must be addressed in a way that will not unduly burden small businesses. The reality is that reform cannot work if it does not meet the needs of our nation's entrepreneurs" (Feldman, CQ HealthBeat, 2/4).

American Public Media's "Marketplace" on Wednesday reported on the hearing. The report includes comments from Susan Eckerly of the National Federation of Independent Business and a small-business owner (Hartman, "Marketplace," American Public Media, 2/4).