Helping small businesses help their employees: A Maryland bill aims to subsidize health insurance costs; will it survive?

A problem with having a big influx of funds, in this case hundreds of millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, is that it’s often accompanied by a long line of organizations with their hands out, advocating for one worthy cause after the other. The needs are almost always greater than the windfall, no matter how large, and many will leave empty-handed, despite the meaningful benefit their projects could offer individuals. One such worthwhile proposal that’s in jeopardy before the General Assembly would provide subsidies to certain small businesses and nonprofits to help them and their employees better afford health insurance plans on the Maryland Health Connection, the state’s health insurance marketplace.