Zane Benefits Urges Congress to Help Small Businesses Offer Affordable Health Benefits
Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) December 09, 2015 -- Zane Benefits, the leader in consumerizing employee benefits for small businesses, joined 25 organizations to urge House and Senate leadership to take action on the Small Business Healthcare Relief Act.
“Small businesses face a dilemma – they want to offer health benefits to recruit and retain key employees, but cannot afford traditional group health insurance," explained Zane Benefits' CEO and President Rick Lindquist.
The Small Business Healthcare Relief Act (H.R. 2911/S. 1697) will help alleviate this dilemma by restoring the ability of small businesses with less than 50 employees to utilize Health Reimbursement Arrangements.
"In addition to the hardships facing small businesses, their employees are also facing higher deductibles and increased out-of-pocket expenses. The relief that this legislation will provide cannot come soon enough,” Lindquist added.
As a result of guidance issued jointly by the Department of Treasury, Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor in 2013, small business owners have been limited in their ability to use stand-alone Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to assist employees with out-of-pocket health insurance and healthcare costs. Small business owners who have continued to offer a stand-alone HRA may be subject to steep penalties.
The legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and Representatives Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), will provide relief on multiple fronts to small business employers by expanding affordable healthcare options, easing the burden of healthcare related administration, and allowing employers to remain competitive for purposes of recruitment and retention.
“Zane Benefits is honored to work alongside these organizations to fight for small businesses,” said Lindquist. “As a company, we are committed to helping the backbone of the U.S. economy and urge Congress to do the same.”
Since 2006, Zane Benefits has been on a mission to level the playing field for small business by creating access to the benefits of the modern individual health insurance market. Their cloud-based health insurance reimbursement program is helping thousands of businesses save up to 60 percent, compared to traditional employer-provided health insurance plans.
To contact your Members of Congress and urge their action on the Small Business Healthcare Relief Act, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com/education/sbhra-take-action.
Vanessa Isaacson, Zane Benefits, http://www.zanebenefits.com, +1 (505) 577-5236, [email protected]
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