Small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the US are facing impossible choices because of the skyrocketing costs of health insurance premiums, and, in many cases, the lack of access to coverage. Here are some of their stories.
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Southern Utah Insurance | St. George, Utah
Utah entrepreneur claims health insurance
tax credit, suggests others do same
Gerene Mason
Southern Utah Insurance
St. George, Utah
Utah entrepreneur claims health insurance tax credit, suggests others do same
Gerene Mason is getting $1,250 in healthcare tax credits back this year and is going to use it to lower her small business’ insurance bill.
She’s thrilled to be able to offset the money her business, Southern Utah Insurance, pays to cover the four of the seven employees who take the insurance. Mason says the credit means she doesn’t have to raise her employees’ deductible.
Mason has know about the tax credits for a while, but in her role setting up other businesses with insurance plans, she often comes across people who don’t know there is money available to help them. And that, she said, is a problem for entrepreneurs watching their bottom lines.
"Small businesses in Utah are struggling big time. Many have dropped insurance altogether. Some tell me they’ll never pick it back up,” she said. “This may give them the opportunity to do so, moving forward."
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law a year ago, contains a provision that allows employers to claim a tax credit for up to 35 percent of their insurance premiums in 2010. In Utah, 85.5 percent of the state’s small businesses—37,800—are eligible for the tax credits right now.
"It’s definitely worth your time to see what these are about,” she said. “In Utah, these will help small businesses keep providing insurance."
