Howard?s plan to expand health care access to people who are uninsured threatens small businesses? efforts to provide insurance to their employees, according to the Restaurant Association of Maryland.
Restaurant owners “believe this could turn into a single-payer system that will ultimately cost businesses,” said Melvin Thompson, vice president of government relations for the association.
The concerns were raised as state lawmakers appear set to approve legislation clearing the way for Howard County?s Healthy Howard plan, which would be run by a nonprofit. The measure establishes a regulatory framework for a public-private health care program.
Howard?s health care plan could prompt employees to drop their health insurance in favor of the less-expensive option, Thompson said.
Small employers need at least 75 percent of their workers to participate to keep their health plans, and if workers drop the insurance, employers may lose their carriers, he said.
To allay some of these concerns, lawmakers included an amendment stating that individuals who canceled their coverage would have to wait six months before joining Healthy Howard.
“It?s a little bit of a deterrent,” Thompson said, adding he was not sure how many restaurant owners would be affected by this small-employer amendment.
The measure cleared the House earlier this month, and the identical Senate version “shouldn?t hit a snag,” said Del. Shane Pendergrass, D-Howard, who sponsored the legislation.
Concerns raised now signal future debates over the program as the County Council considers $500,000 in county funding for the program this spring.
The Howard County Chamber of Commerce said in a position statement that the time until the council considers the budget is a chance to address any issues about the “program?s longevity, the security of funds, and the participation rates and to fine-tune the plan as appropriate.”
Howard?s health officer, Dr. Peter Beilenson, said the health plan shouldn?t affect small businesses, because employees who are already insured are very unlikely to drop their plans and wait for lesser coverage.
“The reason we are limiting it to 2,000 people in the first year is there may be unintended consequences,” he said.
“This is clearly one of the things we will be evaluating our first year.”
