Policy Statements

The most surprising development in Maryland this month wasn’t a snowstorm but the fact that the General Assembly and Gov. Larry Hoganput politics aside to pass a lawthat will rescue the state’s entrepreneurs and small business employees from skyrocketing health care costs.

Maryland lawmakers just approved a bill that will curb the cost of health insurance premiums for 150,000 residents through a $380 million reinsurance program. That's money that can be used by insurers to pay for some of the costliest claims made by customers who purchased insurance through Maryland’s health insurance marketplace. States like Maryland are looking at these programs because they can help stabilize premiums in the individual marketplace by helping to compensate insurers for their most expensive customers.

Small Business Majority voiced opposition against the proposed rule change that would permit insurers to sell “short-term” health insurance plans that provide coverage for up to 364 days, well beyond the three months currently permitted by the Affordable Care Act. Short-term health insurance is meant to fill a gap in an individual’s coverage in the instance of job loss or other life change.

Mark Herbert, California Director for Small Business Majority, testified in front of California's State Senate in support of SB 910, which would clarify that short-term limited duration health insurance cannot be sold in California and bolster health insurance markets. The legislation is meant to protect the robustness of the individual marketplace, which is vitally important for owners and employees of small businesses without group coverage, especially the roughly three million solo-entrepreneurs in California.

Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer testifies before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on how the U.S. Department of Labor's proposed changes to association health plans could hurt the small group market for health insurance.