Assemblyman Andrew Molitor (R,C-Westfield) has introduced legislation (A.10904) aimed at reversing a troubling trend, the steady disappearance of employer-sponsored health insurance among New York’s small businesses. According to a 2023 independent study, only 32% of New York small businesses offer health insurance to their employees. New York carries some of the highest health insurance premiums in the country, driven by the extensive list of state-mandated benefits that insurers are required to include in every policy. For a small business already stretched thin by taxes and regulations, those premiums are too high a price to pay.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and their employees deserve access to quality health coverage,” said Molitor. “Right now, the state’s one-size-fits-all approach is pricing too many of them out of the market entirely. This bill gives small businesses a real path to offering their workers something.”

The Small Business Health Plan Act would create a new class of health insurance policies specifically for small business owners and their employees. Under the bill, these plans would not be subject to New York’s full group health insurance requirements or its standard mandated benefits, as long as the employer contributes to the cost of the coverage. Currently in New York, there is no option for small businesses to opt out of specific parts of the full group health insurance requirements, placing too large a financial burden on small businesses leaving the employees without coverage. This bill would keep coverage more flexible and customizable.

The goal is straightforward: give small businesses access to a more competitive insurance product that they can actually afford to offer rather than leaving small business employees uninsured altogehter.