Proposals to lower the cost of health insurance for the self-employed and small businesses will be introduced to the North Carolina legislature next month, reports the Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area. One proposal would allow small businesses to pay lower premiums for health insurance by creating a reinsurance pool to reduce insurance companies’ costs. And if a second proposal passes, the self-employed and people deemed high risk would benefit from a statewide high-risk pool that would cap premiums. But the reinsurance and high-risk pools are expected to reduce the state’s 1.3 million uninsured population by only 100,000 people. Legislators are also expected to discuss giving a tax credit for small businesses with lapsed health insurance so they can continue providing coverage to their employees. Critics, however, claim that the tax credit discriminates against employers who already provide coverage.
