As
a growing cost of doing business in Illinois, healthcare is an important consideration.
It is estimated that health care benefits in Illinois cost approximately $25 billion
annually. Controlling and/or reducing health care costs are therefore a priority
for employers, as well as the accessibility to affordable health care.
NIBAC
supports policies that will drive the health care debate in the General Assembly.
- Allowing small businesses to pool
their risk and harness their collective buying power will result in cost savings
that will encourage employers to continue or begin to offer coverage to employees.
We SUPPORT legislation that would allow small businesses to join together through
association health plans.
- The
State of Illinois expects employers to contribute to health insurance coverage
for their workers to help insure that individuals have access to affordable health
care. We SUPPORT the recommendation by the Adequate Healthcare Task Force to fund
further studies to determine the impact of proposed employer parameters, in order
to minimize the impact on small businesses and retain employers in the Illinois
market.
- The Adequate
Health Care Task Force advocates spreading risks broadly and stabilizing premiums
in the health insurance market. We SUPPORT this goal by asking legislators to
analyze whether other state’s efforts to merge non-group and small group health
insurance markets can be applied to Illinois.
- Past
actions to legislate additional mandates of coverage have contributed to the escalating
costs of health insurance. We encourage legislators to resist the temptation to
create additional mandates and SUPPORT legislation that would remove previous
mandates to allow for a basic health care plan.
- We
SUPPORT additional improvements to HSA’s ( Health Savings Accounts) to make it
easier for small business and individuals to participate.
- Meaningful
malpractice reform is a continued concern for Illinoisans interested in retaining
high quality physicians at local healthcare facilities. We SUPPORT legislation
addressing increasing premiums for medical liability/malpractice insurance, support
limits on awards for non-economic damages, cap punitive damages against small
businesses, and punish those who try to bring frivolous lawsuits into the court
system.
