Reform not prompting new insurance plans locally

News dribbling out of the health insurance industry in the past few weeks suggests the tax credit in health care reform is helping more small businesses offer insurance.

If there’s a trend, it’s anecdotal, and even spotty. But a Kaiser Family Foundation survey found an uptick in coverage among small companies, and the Los Angeles Times detected examples of explosive increases in some states.

Not in the Indianapolis area, says one local broker.

Dennis Nash, senior benefits consultant at Gregory & Appel Insurance, says small businesses, defined as upward of 50 employees, are showing virtually no greater interest in offering health insurance than they were before reform.

The reason? Insurance is still too expensive.

“There’s a little of a wait-and-see attitude,” Nash says. “Cost is still escalating. It’s almost all economic now.”

What about you? Does the availability of tax credits tip the equation? Any thoughts about health care reform in general?