New Mexico Small Businesses And Nonprofits To Participate In Health Care Reform Workshop

ALBUQUERQUE, NM: The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and Health Action New Mexico are co-hosting an informational forum for New Mexico small business owners and nonprofit executives. The national organization, Small Business Majority, is scheduled to present critical information on the benefits of health care reform to small businesses and nonprofits. Details of the forum follow.

What: Health Care Reform and Your Small Business: What's in it for you?
When: Tuesday, October 26, 2010. 7:30 - 9:00 am
Where: Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Lockheed martin Board Room, 1309 4th St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Who: Rhett A. Buttle, National Outreach and Government Affairs Manager, Small Business Majority

More than 88.9 percent of New Mexico small businesses with fewer than 25 employees are eligible this year for tax credits to help pay the cost of necessary employee health insurance coverage, according to a summer report issued by the consumer health organization, Families USA, and small business advocacy group, Small Business Majority.

New Mexico's small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Reform will for the first time unite small businesses to negotiate for necessary health insurance that provides quality, affordable care. It also will provide many of our small businesses with tax credits to further reduce costs, said executive director of Health Action New Mexico, Barbara Webber. We must now ensure that New Mexico small businesses have the information necessary to receive the benefits for which they are entitled.

Our nation has taken a major step forward in improving the quality and affordability of health care for all Americans, of all ages, and all incomes especially working middle class families. The tax credit program is a key element of this new more fair health care system. The program targets small employers with up to 25 workers. In New Mexico, this means 24,800 small businesses will qualify. Nationally, more than 4 million small businesses, 83.7 percent, are eligible in 2010 for the credit.

Small business owners face unique challenges in trying to provide necessary health care coverage for their smaller numbers of employees. From the local grocer to the hardware store down the street, these individuals will now have substantial help, said Manual Casias, Director of Barelas Economic Opportunity Center, Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce.

Specifically, in 2008, employers with fewer than 10 workers paid on average, nearly $350 more for each employee's health insurance than firms with 50 or more workers, Casias said. It's no surprise, therefore, that less than half of these smallest businesses offered coverage to their employees. This new tax credit should certainly help to improve that record.

Small businesses are financially less able to provide health coverage for their workers than larger businesses. Nationally, 72 percent of small businesses with 10 to 25 workers offer health coverage, while more than 95 percent of businesses with 50 or more workers offer coverage.

The new law aims to redress that imbalance with tax credits, offering the maximum credit of 35 percent to the smallest companies. Nonprofit employers also benefit, with a maximum credit of 25 percent. As the number of employees and their average wages rise, the tax credit is reduced on a sliding scale.

To further provide assistance, the law allows employers to count two half-time workers as one full-time worker, meaning that an employer with mainly part-time workers will be able to qualify for the tax credit.

The report notes that the health reform law contains additional provisions to aid small businesses now and in coming years. Among those provisions:

• Small business owners are able to view all existing health coverage options in their state on a user-friendly website.
• Starting in 2014, small employers will be able to purchase quality coverage with strong consumer protections through state-based health coverage marketplaces called exchanges.
• Starting in 2014, small employers will be eligible for tax credits up to 50 percent, or 35 percent for nonprofits, to cover their workers with policies obtained through the state exchanges.
• Starting in 2014, insurers will be prohibited from charging small employers higher premiums based on their workers pre-existing conditions.