Barbour unveils health insurance plan, tax study

The Sun Herald, 1/3/8

Gov. Haley Barbour said Thursday he will propose a Mississippi health insurance exchange for small businesses during the upcoming legislative session.

Meeting with reporters, the governor also called for a comprehensive study of Mississippi’s tax system and said Leland Speed, former director of the Mississippi Development Authority, would lead the study group.

Barbour said the insurance exchange is needed because an estimated 500,000 people in Mississippi do not have medical coverage and a fourth of those work at small businesses. He said the money that small businesses spend on the insurance plan wouldn’t be subject to taxation. The same would apply to company employees who have to make a contribution to the insurance plan.