Small group insurance reform: how are state programs measuring up?

In the past decade, states have responded to the health insurance needs of small businesses by launching a number of reforms. According to authors Michael Morrisey and Gail Jensen, more than 30 states have implemented "bare-bones" policies that seek to make minimum-benefit, affordable coverage available to small employers. Almost all states have enacted legislation modifying the underwriting practices that insurers may use with respect to such things as pre-existing conditions and occupational exclusions. Other states have provided tax or employer subsidies. But despite the efforts of the states, the authors found the state policies have had little success. Drawing from a survey found that the few employers who were aware of the programs found them to be unappealing. In discovering what doesn't work, the authors are able to suggest remedies for the states' small group insurance ills, such as offering long-term instead of short-term subsidies.