As an insurance agent who provides medical plans for small businesses, I must respond to the news report of more than 400,000 people who have jobs but are not covered by medical insurance. Please note that since the state applied mandates to medical plans, the cost of coverage for small businesses (less than 51 employees) has skyrocketed, and the number of insurance companies offering plans has dwindled to a handful. The average cost of an adequate medical plan is about $240 per month (average age of 45) per employee. These mandated benefits while being very important benefits are extremely costly. Benefits like maternity, drug rehabilitation, mental health, etc., are expensive benefits.
For the past two years the insurance and small business industries have tried to get a bill passed through the Legislature, but lawmakers killed the bills in committee. The bill included an economic medical plan without the 47 mandated benefits. It was a plan that allowed a basic medical plan, called the economy plan. With this plan, if you get sick or injured you were covered by a deductible and coinsurance program and if you wanted the mandated benefits, you could add them as an option.
The insurance companies mentioned that if the mandates were eliminated the cost could drop 20 percent to 40 percent. I have watched my clients struggle with trying to provide basic benefits for employees but either have eliminated dependent subsidy or watered down the benefits causing financial problems for their employees. It is time to change how we look at medical insurance and medical coverage. We need a choice of basic major medical plans without the state mandates or at least a choice of including which mandates need to be included.
John H. Stupey
Everett
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