Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont wants state lawmakers to approve a new tax credit to help small businesses offer health insurance coverage to their employees.
He made the appeal at Fascia’s Chocolates, a small manufacturer in Waterbury, on Wednesday.
The individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements, or ICHRAs, would provide a $ 1,000 tax credit per employee, per year, to small businesses that enroll their workers with Access Health CT, the state-run health care exchange.
It would help small businesses that do not have enough workers afford a privately run group health insurance plan, he said.
“That allows you to be part of a bigger pool up there on the exchange. We get you a $1,000 credit to make it a little easier for you to administer this for the folks that work here right now, save you a little bit of money and make sure the folks have the care that they need,” Lamont said.
“We are our employees, so anything that we can do to help them, we are going to. And these ICHRAs are a good way to help, so thank you very much,” said Carmen Romeo, co-owner of the business.
Tens of thousands of small businesses in the state with 10 employees or fewer would benefit from the program, including hospitality, retail, and professional services, officials said.
