Riley touts insurance plan during county visit

By Staff
Staff reports
Gov. Bob Riley was in Morgan County this week, touting his plan to reward small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees.
Riley spoke Jan. 15 at the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce. Riley will be proposing the small business health insurance incentive plan when the Legislature begins its regular annual session in Feburary.
In addition to promoting greater health care coverage, Governor Riley said his proposal would help encourage further job creation.__
Riley’s plan will offer a tax benefit to small business owners and their owners. The proposal would allow small business employers to deduct twice the amount they pay for health insurance premiums from their state income taxes. Small business workers with incomes up to $50,000 would also be able to deduct twice the amount they pay for health insurance from their individual income taxes.
The tax incentive would apply to employers with 25 or fewer employees, which represent 90 percent of all businesses in Alabama.__
Riley’s plan has received support from several consumer advocacy groups.
“This is a smart way to address three problems,” Riley said. “We can make health care more affordable, lower the number of Alabamians who lack health insurance and strengthen our economy by helping our small businesses.”