California Health Exchange Commits to Small Business by Offering Employee Choice in 2014
Statement by David Chase, California Director for Small Business Majority, regarding California̢???s decision to move forward with employee choice, a critical feature of small business health insurance exchanges
Covered California, the state̢???s forthcoming health insurance exchange, reaffirmed Thursday that it will move full speed ahead implementing a critical health law provision for small businesses in 2014 known as employee choice, which allows small business workers to choose from a number of plans from different insurance carriers. In the wake of the Department of Health and Human Services̢??? proposal to possibly delay this feature in some exchanges until 2015, California̢???s decision to implement it on Day 1 of enrollment is a victory for the state̢???s small businesses looking forward to robust marketplaces next year.
Polling we conducted in California found more than two-thirds of small employers planning to offer health benefits widely support exchanges offering choice. And our national polling further shows that throughout the country, the vast majority of small employers believe this is an important element of the new healthcare marketplaces. Employee choice is key in distinguishing the exchanges from the outside health insurance market. So is another feature Covered California has committed to offering small business customers: premium aggregation, a simplified, employer-friendly billing process. This will help simplify health coverage payment procedures for California small employers.
By including employee choice and premium aggregation, the Affordable Care Act can reverse a longstanding trend that has left small employers on unequal footing for too long. These kinds of benefits have historically been reserved for large businesses and public employees, while small businesses often have to offer a ̢???one-size fits all̢???? plan with added administrative hurdles.
We are pleased to see California̢???s commitment to its leading job creators in offering a robust healthcare marketplace. This decision will go a long way in helping small businesses offer quality coverage options so they can better compete with large businesses to attract and retain the best employees the state has to offer.
<p><strong>About Small Business Majority</strong><br />
Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners to focus on solving the biggest problems facing America's 28 million small businesses today. Since 2005, we have actively engaged small business owners and policymakers in support of public policy solutions, and have delivered information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth and drive a strong, sustainable economy. We are a team of more than 30 working from our 11 offices in Washington, D.C. and 9 states, with a network of more than 45,000 small business owners and more than 2,000 business organizations, along with a formal strategic partnership program of more than 125 business organizations, enabling us to reach more than 500,000 entrepreneurs. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about issues including taxes, healthcare, access to capital, entrepreneurship, workforce development, clean energy and immigration. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/SBM_Media" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessMajority" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://instagram.com/smlbizmajority/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.</p>