COLUMBIA -- The SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce announced its support Wednesday of H.3567, the cigarette tax, as amended by the perfecting amendment of Alexander, Land, Hayes and Lourie adopted Tuesday.

The Small Business Chamber has supported an increase in the cigarette tax providing the revenue would be used to help small businesses in our health insurance crisis, said Frank Knapp, Jr., president of the organization. "In general, H.3567 accomplishes this by enabling more of our uninsured citizens obtain affordable health insurance coverage."

Specifically, H.3567 addresses several of the Small Business Chamber's earlier recommendations:

1. It provides premium assistance to low income individuals (assignable to employers) for the purchase of health insurance. The Small Business Chamber, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center and SC Fair share first proposed this concept in 2005.

2. It makes premium assistance available to new health insurance plans (SC HealthNet) and community health care plans designed to reduce premiums/payments by focusing on basic health care services. The potential of the latter has been demonstrated by a 2005 project originated by the SC Primary Health Care Association and the Small Business Chamber.

3. It expands Medicaid coverage to parents with incomes up to 100% of the Federal Poverty Level and possibly increasing the number of children covered under SCHIP.

4. It uses the existing high risk pool for individuals with pre-existing conditions by subsidizing premiums for those willing to be a part of better disease control management health care. The bill also recognizes that this opportunity should not be restricted to low income individuals thus enabling employees with pre-existing conditions to obtain affordable health insurance outside of an employer’s group health plan. The potential result is reduced premiums for the other employees and the business owner.

5. It creates a Healthcare Access and Affordability study committee to make systemic recommendations to the General Assembly for improving health care and controlling costs.

The Small Business Chamber did propose two amendments to the bill. "We would recommend that there be no limit on the length of time an individual can receive premium assistance. A two-year limit, as proposed in the bill, will create a revolving door of health insurance coverage for low income individuals," said Frank Knapp, Jr., president of the Small Business Chamber. "While this policy might allow room for others on a waiting list to receive converge, it does not decrease the number of the uninsured and it might discourage employers from participating. If the program is successful, we should be looking at ways to expand the funding to serve more of the uninsured who qualify."

The Small Business Chamber also recommended that the Department of Insurance develop and implement a public awareness program not only for the Palmetto Healthcare Safety Net as called for in the bill, but also for the Palmetto Healthcare Premium Assistance Program.

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