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A governor's task force looks squarely at what is required to expand health coverage provided by Ohio employers
Published on Monday, Jul 28, 2008
About 1.3 million Ohio residents (12 percent of the state's population) lack health coverage. As previous studies also have noted, the uninsured Ohioan is likely to be a working-age adult and a high school graduate in a household where someone works full time.
There are many reasons so many Ohioans lack health coverage. Insurance companies are notorious, for example, for denying coverage to individuals tagged with the ''pre-existing condition'' label because of a history of serious illness. Among the most common explanations for the high percentage of uninsured is the number of small businesses that offer employees few or no health benefits.
Worse yet, studies show the number of employers who offer some coverage declining, as they opt out due to tightening finances and rising premium rates. Rapid increases in premiums in the individual market put health coverage beyond the range of many workers' incomes.
Thus the importance of Strickland's charge to the team to recommend ways to increase the number of small businesses capable of offering affordable health insurance to their workers. The report's proposal to expand employer-based coverage reflects the importance of insuring all workers, regardless of the size of their employer. Protecting their health should be a priority for the state.
One recommendation is that the state require Ohio employers who do not offer health benefits to establish Section 125 premium-only plans. This IRS mechanism gives workers the option to buy health coverage using pretax dollars, at the same time lowering their taxable income. For workers who cannot afford the premium costs, the report recommends state-sponsored assistance.
The point is frequently made that the thousands of small businesses across the state, often employing fewer than 50 people, form the backbone of local economies. These workers are an essential component of the economic fabric, their continued health and those of their dependents critical to productivity. Is it acceptable that a health-care system based largely on employment status continues to leave the majority of such workers uncovered?
The uninsured problem remains a challenge not for lack of effort to resolve it. The reality is that no number of reasonable recommendations can make a difference if nothing is done to restrain the cost of premiums and health-care services from outpacing the incomes of working families.
Get the full article here.
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