Connecticut lawmakers have many possibilities this year to offer meaningful, extended-term assistance for the state’s tiny firms which, regrettably, can be undermined by legislative modifications to tax policy and workplace mandates.
Tiny firms are the heart and soul of our economy and the communities they serve, however several are nonetheless struggling to recover from the pandemic as they wrestle with a series of challenges.
They are navigating soaring charges — in a state that is currently amongst the ten most pricey states to run a company — and a worker shortage crisis that is displaying no indicators of easing.
The Common Assembly is reviewing genuine options to these difficulties, such as bills opening the study and improvement tax credit system to tiny firms, totally restoring the pass-by way of entity tax credit, repealing the sales tax on workforce education applications, and paying off the state’s federal unemployment loan debt.
A single legislative proposal in distinct that has the prospective to generate transformative alter is Residence Bill 6710.
This legislation is developed to decrease the expense of overall health coverage for tiny firms and their personnel and enhance the high quality of that coverage.
It does so by leveling the playing field for tiny firms, supplying solutions to the very same overall health care strategy offerings as major corporations are afforded and which handful of tiny firms can access right now.
This also advantages tiny firms by enabling them to compete for talent, particularly in this tight labor market place, by providing the very same advantages supplied by bigger corporations.
Residence Bill 6710 is a game changer. By permitting association overall health plans, the legislation lets eligible company and business organizations and nonprofit groups aggregate their members and take benefit of the economies of scale by negotiating straight with insurance coverage corporations to style plans that meet their members’ wants.
Residence Bill 6170 has wide assistance from each Democratic and Republican lawmakers — a reflection of its viability as a genuine option to a issue policymakers have wrestled with for years.
It is also supported by much more than 3 dozen Connecticut company groups, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations, such as the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.
Such far-reaching and bipartisan assistance speaks to the bill’s substance — each in terms of affordability and overall health strategy high quality.
Overall health care charges have continued to boost year more than year, impacting the company neighborhood and, much more importantly, employee access to inexpensive overall health insurance coverage.
The lack of inexpensive solutions is a key concern for our member corporations, with as well several forced to pick involving higher-expense plans with restricted advantages or not supplying any coverage for personnel.
Residence Bill 6710 is a genuine option. Equivalent laws in Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Maine, Virginia and Washington currently permit tiny firms these very same revolutionary solutions to offer high quality, inexpensive overall health care for personnel.
The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, which represents much more than 1,900 firms employing more than 50,000 individuals across the state, totally supports Residence Bill 6710.
We urge lawmakers to vote to level the playing field for tiny firms, support them much better compete in the healthcare insurance coverage market place, and offer personnel the very same advantages offered to these who function for massive employers whilst considerably enhance the high quality of their lives.
Johanna Bond is president and CEO of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce.