U.S. Chamber Member Testifies

 

 

Chamber member Tony Montville urged members of a House panel to make health care more affordable for small businesses through a number of policy recommendations.

 

Testifying on behalf of the Chamber, Montville, founder and CEO of HealthTek Solutions, a consulting and software development company in Norfolk, Virginia, described to members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Health Subcommittee his struggle to offer 100% health coverage to his 34 employees and their families. Several years ago, Montville's premiums doubled after one of his employees was diagnosed with cancer. "Before this crisis, I was paying $12,000 per month to provide insurance. It immediately jumped to more than $23,000 per month."

 

Since then, Montville has looked for ways to keep his insurance benefits high and his costs affordable, including switching to a high-deductible plan coupled with a health reimbursement arrangement and providing incentives to encourage employee participation in a wellness program.

Montville called on Congress to create small business health plans, make health savings accounts more attractive to employers and workers, reform the medical liability system, and extend tax credits to employers that provide comprehensive wellness programs.