Today, the Ohio Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 9; legislation that would require a health plan issuer to release each group policyholder’s monthly claims data.

Just last week, OSBC member, Victoria McCoy, of Association Insurance Group, testified in support of SB 9. The cost of health care is one of, if not the top expense for a business. We believe that this bill will help small businesses by allowing those with 50 or more full-time employees to access more data as they make their decision about which health plan they will choose.

However, we would like to see the threshold go below 50 full-time employees in order to capture and assist more small businesses. Nevertheless, Senate Bill 9 does serve as a positive step forward to aid small businesses in their effort to control health insurance costs.

The Ohio Small Business Council as a whole sent a letter of support of Senate Bill 9 and it is our hope that this bill will move through the House quickly and be implemented into law for the benefit of Ohio’s business climate.