small group insurance

Small Market Insurance Reform

Small Market Reform Fact Sheet.pdf

Rate Reform and the Small Group Health Insurance Market

The important role of small business:

Small businesses are central to Pennsylvania’s economy – accounting for 50 percent of the state’s private-sector employment.
Most small business owners want to offer quality, affordable health insurance to their employees and believe “it’s the right thing to do.” That’s because health insurance improves recruitment, retention, employee health and productivity, and employee attitude.

The chaotic small group insurance market:

House committee considers small group reform

Submitted by pahealth on March 18, 2009 - 2:51pm

Pennsylvania is one of only two states that provides no rate protections for small employers buying health coverage for their employees. As a result, health insurers have almost unlimited freedom to compete for the business they want: employee groups with a low risk of needing medical care. Small employers, on the other hand, are suffering in Pennsylvania's relatively unregulated market due to the unpredictability and unaffordabilty of rates. Many have dropped coverage as a result, thus adding to the number of uninsured.