First, Do No Harm

This week's NJBiz highlights the 9.4% jump in health insurance premiums paid by New Jersey companies last year, and the impact the escalating rates are having on employers and employees alike. For a family of four, the average national premium is about $12,000, but it is closer to $15,000 in New Jersey, adding to the costs of doing business we mentioned in today's first post.

The faster prices escalate, the more likely an employer is to be priced out of the market.

Despite the increases, 98 percent of companies with 51 or more employees said they still provide health coverage as an employee benefit.

But a growing number of smaller companies said they have dropped coverage because they can no longer afford it. Twenty-five percent of respondent companies with between two and 19 employees reported not providing health insurance, up from 8 percent four years ago.

There are many, many causes for high insurance premiums, but the legislature could act today to help slow the increases simply by doing nothing.

CIANJ's Legislative Agenda calls for a moratorium on all health insurance mandates. These mandates set requirements for what insurance companies must cover as part of a standard plan in the regulated market. No matter how well-intentioned the mandates are, they result in higher premiums and add to the problem of the uninsured. Presently, mandates already account for up to one-fifth the price of insurance.

Legislators should first, do no harm.