Today, the Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC) offered support through written testimony and a letter of support for Senate Bill 9 to the House Insurance Committee. This legislation would require a health plan issuer to release each group policyholder’s monthly claims data.

In March, OSBC member Victoria McCoy offered proponent testimony in front of the Senate Insurance Committee. In her testimony, she spoke to the cost of health care for employers and specifically for small businesses. Her expertise in the health care industry offers a great insight on the issue and how SB 9 would be helpful for small businesses to attempt to mitigate the cost of health insurance.  

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, SB 9 does serve as a positive step forward to aid small businesses in their effort to control health insurance costs. This bill passed through the Senate unanimously and we are hopeful that it will continue to move expeditiously through the legislative process and bring about some much-needed relief for small businesses.