New Haven Firms: $1K Health Credit

Connecticut Opens a Health Credit for Small Businesses

NEW HAVEN, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont announced Wednesday, Sept. 23, that Connecticut small businesses can now apply for a new tax credit worth as much as $1,000 a year for each worker they help insure. Businesses in New Haven, Bridgeport and Meriden with no more than 50 employees in Connecticut when applying may qualify by adopting an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement instead of a traditional employer-provided health plan and offering it through Access Health CT’s BusinessPlus platform.

The credit was approved earlier this year and covers an employer’s first two years in a row of offering the arrangement, according to the state announcement reported by CT News Junkie. The program is capped at $5 million and is being offered on a first-come, first-served basis, WFSB reported. That is enough to cover about 5,000 workers, state officials told WFSB.

How New Haven-Area Employers Could Qualify

An Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement, or ICHRA, lets an employer set a monthly contribution for each employee. Workers put that money toward an individual plan they pick on Access Health CT, the state marketplace.

The credit is tied to offering the ICHRA through the marketplace’s BusinessPlus platform. Access Health CT is the only place employers can access the credit, according to CT News Junkie. The credit is the lesser of a business’s qualified contributions or $1,000 per covered employee.

The state describes the measure as a way to encourage more small businesses to offer coverage while helping offset premiums. It gives employees a choice of individual plans while letting employers determine their monthly contribution, rather than selecting one plan for the entire workforce.

Application and Assistance Are Available Through State Channels

Small businesses can find the application form on the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services website under the Pass-Through Entity Tax Forms section, CT News Junkie reported. Employers seeking details can visit AccessHealthCT.com/BusinessPlus or call Access Health CT’s BusinessPlus office at 1-860-241-8445.

The marketplace also provides a directory where businesses can search for certified brokers. Credits are handed out in the order applications arrive until the $5 million runs out.

Lamont and State Officials Describe the Goal

Lamont said the credit is intended to help small businesses provide coverage and keep more residents insured. “Through this tax credit, we can encourage more small businesses to offer health coverage to their employees, keeping more people in Connecticut insured while also offsetting their premiums,” he said, according to CT News Junkie.

In comments reported by WFSB, Lamont said, “It saves small businesses a lot of money. If you have fifty employees, that’s fifty thousand dollars a year. It also saves employees money, because their part of a bigger pool.” His example describes the maximum per-worker credit multiplied across a 50-person business; the state program’s overall funding remains capped at $5 million.

James Michel, chief executive of Access Health CT, said part of the marketplace’s job is to cut the number of uninsured residents by making coverage and financial help easier to get. Revenue Services Commissioner Mark Boughton also pointed to the state’s partnership with Access Health CT.

The Credit Comes as Officials Discuss Affordability

State Sen. Jeff Gordon, a Republican from Woodstock, said Connecticut policyholders face rate increases of 10 percent or more this year and welcomed any help with them, CT News Junkie reported. He also said the Connecticut Association of Health Plans could help find savings in health care costs, CT News Junkie reported.

The credit was proposed by Lamont and approved earlier this year. It is now available to qualifying businesses through the state marketplace, with the two-year limit applying to each employer’s first two consecutive years offering an ICHRA.

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