TRENTON-New Jersey is already unfriendly to small mom and pop businesses, Main Street USA and independent contractors when it comes to affordable healthcare. Despite the federal healthcare mandate being lifted, New Jersey still imposes that mandate. New Jersey also bars sole proprietor and husband and wife businesses with few or no employees from buying group medical plans.
Now, Governor Phil Murphy wants to make it even harder for small business owners in New Jersey to get quality, affordable healthcare.
New Jersey Senator Vin Gopal said a rule change being proposed by the Murphy Administration could strip small businesses of health coverage they have now.
Murphy’s administration wants to change the definition of “small employer” to exclude sole proprietorships, partnerships, husband-wife or parent-child businesses that don’t have at least one additional employee.
“I am strongly concerned that this proposal would not only harm New Jersey’s critical small business sector, but that it also wrongfully and unintentionally penalizes the Garden State’s community of mom-and-pop stores,” Gopal said. “Under this proposed regulation, two unmarried individuals operating a small business would be able to apply for and obtain insurance through AMT, but a married couple operating an identical company would be barred from doing so.”
The rules change could bar certain small businesses from purchasing health insurance through a multiple-employer welfare association, such as plans offered by CentraState Healthcare to members of local chambers of commerce.
Mom and Pops in New Jersey are already barred from purchasing group healthcare since the Affordable Care Act was enacted by President Barack Obama.