Albany, New York – On Tuesday, March 1st, the Assembly passed a bill sponsored by Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright that further assists small businesses and school districts to ease the costs of a changing insurance market for those who currently use stop-loss/reinsurance to provide healthcare for their employees.

Last year, legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Seawright signed into law by Governor Cuomo, allowed small businesses and school districts to continue to purchase existing coverage that may have become prohibited by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. This year’s legislation allows these same small employers to continue to purchase their existing cost-effective insurance for at least three more years and provides that a study will be conducted to assess the impact on the insurance coverage market before further changes are made.

The Senate passed the bill sponsored by Senator Seward on February 24, 2016. The legislation will be sent to the Governor for his approval.