Nonprofit Offers Info on Health Care Reform

LEAF ED Julie Dostal passed on this info from National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) regarding nonprofits and health care reform:

Nonprofits and Health Care Reform
Over the past several months, we have been in consistent communication with you regarding the health care reforms developments and how they impact the treatment of alcoholism and addiction. The following e-mail is an update regarding how health care reform may impact your NCADD Affiliate, as a non-profit organization.

As we're sure you're well aware, the debate to reform the nation's health care system is in full swing. NCADD is working with a variety of human service organizations to monitor and influence the impact of the reforms on the nonprofit sector. Currently, there is a proposal in the House that does not offer nonprofits the same availability to program subsidies that would be offered to for-profit employers to help provide health coverage to their workers. We strongly encourage you to contact your representatives this week regarding this issue and are providing a draft letter (below) from the Independent Sector for you to use….

LETTER
Dear Representative/ Senator:
On behalf of [organization], I am writing to urge you to ensure that health care legislation includes subsidies to help nonprofit employers provide health coverage to their workers.

Nonprofit organizations employ over 14 million people in the United States -- almost 10 percent of the U.S. workforce -- who are integral to the vital services these organizations provide to communities across the nation. The vast majority of nonprofits are small businesses, employing 50 or fewer workers, and like our for-profit counterparts, we generally lack access to the range of health insurance choices available to larger businesses. During these difficult economic times, we are facing rising demands for our services with fewer private contributions and government resources to help meet that demand. Without assistance, most small nonprofits will be forced to cut staff, cut benefits, and cut programs. [Consider sharing specifics about the number of people your organization employs, the types of services you provide, and the importance of health care reform to your organization.]

We urge you to support the inclusion of some form of financial assistance, like the one offered in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved bill, to both nonprofit and for-profit employers to help pay the cost of health insurance premiums. The tax credit included in the bill adopted by the House Ways and Means Committee would generally not apply to tax-exempt nonprofits and so some other form of assistance is needed to provide them with assistance comparable to that being provided to small, taxable businesses.

Again, we feel it is imperative that Congress ensure that any health care reform measures provide direct incentives to nonprofit employers so that they may have affordable access to health insurance options for their employees.

Sincerely,
[Executive Director Organization]