Small Business Healthcare Bill: Fact Versus Fiction
The state’s largest business organization today warned that legislation giving small business and nonprofit employees access to affordable, quality healthcare coverage is being compromised by “a deliberate misinformation campaign.”
In a letter sent today to members of the state House of Representatives, CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima urged lawmakers “to reject the misinformation and falsehoods being advanced by national special interest groups.”
“When it became known that an agreement on this legislation had been reached, these groups attacked the bill before the final, negotiated amendment was even made public, and they have since been forced to retract many of their misstatements,” he said.
DiPentima called HB 6710 “a landmark proposal” that makes high quality health plans more affordable for small businesses and their employees, “along with unprecedented consumer protections that will be the strongest in the country.”
The bill represents months of negotiations between industry stakeholders and a diverse, bipartisan group of public officials, including the Connecticut Insurance Department, the Office of the Governor, the Office of Health Strategy, the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, the Office of the Comptroller, as well as Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate.
DiPentima noted that the bill earned the public support of state Health Advocate Ted Doolittle, who played a lead role in the negotiations and called the agreement a “step in the right direction” and “a good thing.”
“The cost of employee healthcare is one of the top concerns for Connecticut’s small employers,” DiPentima wrote. “The small group insurance market is in crisis, and the state is in desperate need of solutions.
“Employers and workers cannot afford to wait another year for solutions, and it is imperative that the General Assembly act to address this crisis in the 2023 session.”
CBIA is Connecticut’s largest business organization, with thousands of member companies, small and large, representing a diverse range of industries from every part of the state. For more information, please contact Scott Beaulieu (860.244.1929).
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