Small Businesses Push for Affordable Health Plan Options

Over 50 small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and chambers of commerce this week urged lawmakers to approve legislation addressing the lack of small group health insurance options.

They testified before the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee March 3 in support of HB 5378.

The bill allows small businesses to pool their risk and purchase health insurance through a trade association or local chamber of commerce.

Community Mental Health Affiliates president and CEO Grace Cavallo told the committee the nonprofit’s most recent medical renewal was a 44.1% jump from the previous year, representing an increase of about $907,000.

“We were able to finalize the renewal at an increase of $252,000, which required us to change our insurance carrier as well, but even this ‘reduced’ increase was not feasible without shifting additional cost to employees,” she testified.

“We need solutions that improve stability and affordability for employers and employees alike, so we are not forced year after year into benefit reductions and cost-shifting simply to keep coverage in place.”

Benefits of Pooling

CBIA policy director Grace Brangwynne told committee members that because of Connecticut’s rapidly shrinking small group market, small businesses “are facing a healthcare crisis.”

“Employers are being forced to choose between raising prices, cutting staff, reducing benefits, or dropping coverage entirely,” she said.

“For many, this is not a future problem—it is a right‑now emergency.”

Brangwynne noted that HB 5378 gave small businesses more bargaining power, more stable pricing, and a range of plan options that fit the needs of their employees.

“This is not a future problem—it is a right‑now emergency.”

CBIA’s Grace Brangwynne

She said the bill provides several advantages for small employers: 

• Risk pooling across many employers, reducing volatility. 
• Greater bargaining power, similar to large employers. 
• More predictable premiums, improving budget planning. 
• Access to high‑quality plan designs that small employers cannot secure on their own 

“Businesses have to do right by their employees and that includes providing them very competitive health benefits,” she said.

“We’re seeing a huge coverage gap for those [small businesses] in the two to 50 employee range.”

‘Level Playing Field’

Carmen Romeo, president of Fascia’s Chocolates in Waterbury, testified about the extraordinary measures he took to provide coverage after his carrier left the small group market in 2024.

“To even have a plan at that time, I had to have my own wife and son on different policies than myself because we had to have a minimum number of the eligible full-time employees take part in the plan,” he said.

“Employees increasingly view health coverage as a deciding factor in whether to stay with or leave a job. Allowing AHPs will help level the playing field and keep small employers viable.” 

“HB 5378 gives small employers a realistic way to offer more affordable and predictable health benefits.”

The Flour Girl Bakery’s Michelle Nicholson

Michelle Nicholson, the founder and owner of The Flour Girl Bakery in Hebron, testified that she currently does not offer employees health insurance—”not because I don’t value it, but because I can’t afford to offer it in a way that is sustainable for my business or truly affordable for my team.”

“HB 5378 gives small employers a realistic way to offer more affordable and predictable health benefits while maintaining strong oversight and protections,” she said.

Cori-Lynn Webber, who runs a four-person law firm, testified that the bill “gives us access to the same stability and negotiating power that larger employers already enjoy.”

“This approach enables us to offer high-quality, more affordable, and more predictable health benefits
without compromising our financial stability,” she said.

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For more information, contact CBIA’s Grace Brangwynne (860.244.1163).