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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News
Byline: J.C. Conklin
Mar. 28--Nearly 10 years ago, state lawmakers set out to make it easier for workers at small companies to obtain affordable health insurance.
They wrote new rules so that insurers could no longer deny a policy to a small employer because of an employee's costly medical condition.
They eased financial restrictions to make it more palatable for employers to extend health benefits. They relaxed other rules so that more businesses became eligible to offer coverage.
But they didn't get the results that they sought.
Fewer small Texas employers today offer insurance than just five years ago, and fewer insurance companies serve the market. As competition among insurers dwindles, premiums have risen.
"It's a growing problem. Small businesses are having a tough time," said state Rep. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, sponsor of a bill aimed at giving insurance agents more incentives to cater to small businesses.
At fault, according to agents, insurers and small-business owners, is a complicated mix of the nation's medical inflation problem and surging demand for health care.
Also swirling into the equation are business owners' allegations that insurers are working around existing law to charge higher premiums or otherwise make it more difficult to obtain coverage.
Jose Montemayor, commissioner of the Texas Department of Insurance, sent out a bulletin last month warning...
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