NCN urges inclusion of small nonprofits in health care bill

From the National Council of Nonprofits

The National Council of Nonprofits, with its nationwide network of more than 22,000 nonprofit members, is intensifying its efforts to convince Congress that the final health care reform bill should provide relief to help all small employers, including nonprofits, provide health insurance to their employees.

In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, NCN President Tim Delaney urged the House to follow the Senate’s lead and adopt a tax credit that will help all small employers – nonprofits as well as for-profits – provide health insurance to their employees. As currently written, the House’s health care bill offers relief to small for-profit employers but excludes small nonprofit employers.

“The vast majority of nonprofits are small, community-based organizations struggling every day to cope with surging health care costs and other financial challenges,” Delaney said in his letter. “By making nonprofits eligible for the small employer tax credit, the Senate’s approach recognizes the absolutely vital role nonprofits play in our society.”

Nonprofit groups employ roughly 10 percent of American workers and many are confronting the same higher premiums and rising health care costs as small businesses. Compounding the financial strain of higher insurance costs, Delaney noted, many nonprofit health-care clinics, food banks and other small 501 (c)(3) organizations are facing an increase in demand for their services at a time when charitable donations have fallen and many government agencies are curtailing their payments to nonprofits amid an unprecedented fiscal crisis.

The National Council has been raising its voice on this important issue along with the leaders of its 37 state associations, many of whom have phoned or written their representatives, and organizations such as Independent Sector and the American Society of Association Executives, which also sent letters to Congress on this issue.

Additionally, last week, 52 House members, including Hawaii Rep. Neil Abercrombie, sent a letter to House Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer pressing the leaders to amend the tax credit provision so it includes small nonprofit and for-profit employers.

As the largest association of small and midsized nonprofits, the National Council is particularly grateful for the efforts of Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and the other House members for demonstrating their support for nonprofits and the 15 million Americans they employ.

For more information about nonprofits and health care reform, please visit: http://www.councilofnonprofits.org.