A large majority of small-business owners in New York are likely to use the state”™s future health insurance exchange to buy coverage for employees, including businesses that currently do not offer benefits, according to a recent survey commissioned by the operator of a small health insurance exchange for businesses in the metropolitan and mid-Hudson Valley region.
Small-business owners by a 2-to-1 margin preferred an exchange run by the private sector over a government-run exchange.
New York and other states are required by the federal Affordable Care Act to create their own exchanges to give individuals and small businesses access to health care coverage or be included in a federal exchange. The exchanges are required to begin operating by Jan. 1, 2014.
The state Health Department this year began studies to lay the foundation for a state exchange to be run as a public benefit corporation directed by seven health care industry professionals and two state department heads. A bill creating the exchange and a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) to assist business owners with fewer than 50 employees in the new insurance marketplace was passed by the state Assembly this year, but stalled in the Senate.
The online survey in November included 300 owners of small businesses in the state. It was done for HealthPass New York, a nonprofit commercial health insurance exchange used by nearly 4,000 small businesses and sole proprietors that provides coverage to some 30,000 persons in New York City, Westchester County, Long Island and six Hudson Valley counties.
The HealthPass exchange was started 12 years ago with subsidies from New York City and is now self-sufficient. “We are actively seeking a role in the delivery of the health insurance exchange” in New York, HealthPass New York President and CEO Vincent Ashton said in a recent conference call.
The state exchange for small businesses is expected to enroll 400,000 to 500,000 members. Ashton, however, said the voice of small business “has largely been absent from the discussion so far” as the exchange is created in Albany.
Only one in five business owners surveyed were familiar with health insurance exchanges. After reading a description of the proposed New York exchange, 84 percent called it a good idea and 76 percent said they are likely to use an exchange. Of businesses that do not currently offer benefits, 60 percent said they are more likely to offer coverage if an exchange is available.
Only 33 percent knew that the federal government provides a tax credit to small businesses that provide health insurance to employees.
Of business owners who provide health insurance, 56 percent agreed their company spends too much time dealing with health insurance issues. Among owners with two to five employees, nearly 80 percent said they spend too much time on such issues, said survey consultant Ben Geyerhahn, managing principal at Hudson TG in New York City.
The pending health exchange bill in Albany would relieve owners of the burden of administering health benefits by providing back-office services.
The exchange bill also would create an online space where employers can compare available plans and buy coverage.
