Senate Health Bill's Impact on Small Biz

New York Times small business reporter Robb Mandelbaum says that the Senate healthcare bill that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) put together actually treats small companies gently, despite strong protests to the bill from some small business lobbyists (including franchising lobbyists).

The bill that was passed by the Democrats in the Senate (not one of the 40 Republican Senators voted for it) is quite different from what was passed by the House. Working out a compromise between the two houses before the bill goes to the President for his signature is expected to be no easy task, but what happens after Congress returns from its winter break in January remains to be seen.

states must set up a so-called Small Business Health Options Program (a.k.a, a “SHOP Exchange”) through which small companies can buy insurance....Every insurer would have to treat all of its customers in the small-group market as members in a single risk pool... The smallest firms will still have no obligation to buy health insurance for employees. In fact, technically, this measure doesn’t require any firm to offer insurance. Practically, however, it would have that effect on companies with more than 50 full-time workers.

See the Senate bill’s provisions and how they affect small business.