SmallBusinessNewz

Manhattan and Queens could join Brooklyn in eligibility

Small businesses in Manhattan and Queens may join Brooklyn in low-cost healthcare eligibility through the HealthWorks program.

Few expenses challenge healthcare when it comes to pulling dollars out of an entrepreneur. It's also the benefit that is a dealbreaker for hiring or keeping a good staffer on the job.

In Brooklyn, small businesses have access to HealthWorks, an option for healthcare over the past four years. The program worked out well enough that demand for its expansion should push it into a couple of other boroughs.

The New York Daily News said the $4.9 million expansion received plenty of City Council support, with Speaker Christine Quinn leading the charge:

"Working for a small business nowadays doesn't guarantee you health insurance. It can," Quinn said as she hailed Brooklyn HealthWorks, which has covered 170 small businesses since it began in 2004.

HealthWorks is sponsored by the state, Group Health Inc. and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. But Quinn wants it expanded so that 4,500 workers in Queens and Manhattan also can buy affordable insurance for themselves and their families.

More states ought to look at HealthWorks and see if it can work for them. States providing a similar program would do wonders for their small business climates.