Statehouse Report
March 27, 2020
…Frank Knapp, head of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, suggests the state augment a federal infusion of money into small businesses by delaying the filing of state employer payroll taxes.
“There should not be any refund checks sent to taxpayers this year,” he said. “We should be putting every state tax dollar we can into our hospitals to cover their COVID-19 operational costs. We should do this because of the health care needs but also because it will help keep health insurance rates from rising next year.”
Knapp also suggested using federal dollars to expand Medicaid, even if only for a year, because tens of thousands of newly laid-off workers won’t have health insurance or meet federal levels to qualify for health insurance subsidies. So they’ll be out in the cold, further exacerbating an unhealthy environment.
“Lack of health insurance results in unhealthy citizens, which threatens all of us,” Knapp said. “Plus, when the unemployed get sick and go to the emergency room, if they can get in, their uncompensated medical costs will be passed on to everyone else through higher insurance premiums.”…