lifestyle02
Legislation aimed at extending health insurance to small business owners and their employees is taking effect, with applications accepted Oct. 1 for limited access to the program.
"It's first-come, first-serve," Montana State Auditor John Morrison said Tuesday on a stop in Kalispell. Morrison's office requested House Bill 667, which was passed as the Small Business Health Care Affordability Act and signed into law in May.
The legislation makes use of tax credits and premium payments to help small business owners provide insurance to their employees, and it allows business owners to pool their resources for lower-priced health plans.
But businesses have to meet a series of requirements. Businesses that have between two and five employees where no employee makes more than $75,000 annually (excluding the owner) meet the program's initial criteria.
Morrison said Montana has an estimated 170,000 people who have no health insurance, and most of those people work at full-time jobs with small businesses.
Montana has a higher percentage of workers who are employed by small businesses than any other state in the nation, Morrison said.
Morrison cited the example of a mechanic he met in Livingston who wanted to provide his four employees with insurance. With combined contributions from himself and his employees, the man told Morrison they could afford to pay about $7,000 a year for insurance.
But that wasn't nearly enough for insurance plans available on the market. "That's $7,000 left on the table that wants to be going toward the cost of delivering health care in this state, but it can't get there," Morrison.
Situations like that are bad for the health care of uninsured workers, with a resulting side effect of higher health costs and health-insurance premiums for everyone, Morrison said.
HB 667 was designed to provide "a bridge" for small business owners to obtain coverage for their workers. The tax credits and incentive payments are possible largely because the legislation backfills the state budget with tobacco tax revenue.
But that revenue is limited and it is expected to decline over time, so the program is expected to be available for up to 8,000 workers at its peak, unless the Legislature finds other revenue sources to expand the program.
"This program is not an entitlement," Morrison said, explaining that participating business owners will have to reapply every year.
A growing business that participates with four employees one year may not qualify the next year with seven employees. The exception is if part-time employees are hired. The program considers someone who works at least 30 hours a week to be an employee.
Morrison said applications for the program will be accepted starting Oct. 1. By that time, qualified program participants will be able to choose from several health-care plans that will be available through several different insurance companies, Morrison said.
Participating small business owners and their employees are expected to have health insurance by January, he said.
For information on how to apply for the program, call 1-800-332-6148 or check the Internet at: