Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com May 25, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 33 Lowering that same number on a statewide basis was also one of the chief goals behind health care reform in Massachusetts in 2006, based on the idea that getting everyone insured would help the whole system become more effective. That change, along with a drive for more affordability, would go a long way toward eliminating the massive downside risk of the number of uninsureds that could take down the system with too many catastrophic illnesses. In Massachusetts, only 4 percent of residents were uninsured in 2013, the lowest among the 50 states. But the long-term gain of health care reform will not come without some short-term pain. Today, many businesses, especially in Massachusetts, are feeling that pain through significant price increases in their health insurance offerings. As more people have purchased insurance, more seek care, which leads to more insurance claims. That's what's increasing the costs of insurance for both businesses and their employees, especially small businesses that don't have the negotiating leverage of larger, better-heeled companies. As the ACA comes to ascendancy and replaces many of the guidelines in the Massachusetts law, the issue of costs for small businesses must be addressed. That's why we endorse Gov. Charlie Baker's efforts to press the Obama administration for some flexibility within the ACA to allow Massachusetts to continue to define its small businesses (also known as the "small group" market) as having no more than 50 employees. Effective next year, the ACA's definition would double that ceiling to 100 employees. The difference is significant because of the rating factors that determine insurance premium pricing, such as age and tobacco use. But Massachusetts employs additional factors in rate setting, such as industry and wellness program participation. Those additional factors help insurers determine rates more precisely, and fairly, giving more small businesses a chance to qualify for more competitive plans and a savings that can be critical to their survival and growth. "Decreased use of the rating factors has already led to significant premium swings that have disproportionately affected small businesses," Baker wrote in a letter last month to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell. The elimination of the state's rating factors, he added, "will lead to further disruption and instability in the marketplace." Since its passage in 2010, the ACA has withstood strongly partisan attacks and a major legal challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court, with another high- court challenge pending. Much of the criticism is off target and purely political, and much of it is justified. However, it is widely recognized that our polarized Congress is unwilling to patch many of the most obvious holes in the legislation, leaving any changes dependent on delays or approved workarounds. Facing stiff criticism, the administration has shown great flexibility of late with the law's implementation. According to the Galen Institute, a tax and health policy research organization, the ACA has undergone 50 changes, 31 of them made by the Obama administration. A change such as the one Baker is requesting may be another workaround, but it makes a lot of sense, and will likely provide some needed relief to the Bay State's small-business sector. n ACA exemption can help small businesses in Mass. E D I T O R I A L The Worcester Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and commentary submissions. Please send submissions to Rick Saia, editor, at rsaia@wbjournal.com. Letters can also be faxed to 508-755-8860. N ichols College recently released the inaugural Massachusetts Women' Leadership Index (MWLI), which measures how well women are doing when it comes to serving as CEOs, board members, and executive officers in business, the nonprofit world and the public sector. The results were shocking and less than stellar for a state with such a progressive reputation: Massachusetts scored 36 out of a possible 100 points. Among the eye-catching findings: Women represent a meager 3 percent of CEOs and 12 percent of executive officers in businesses around the state. Meanwhile, the national averages for these positions stand at 5 and 15 percent, respectively. There's more. Women comprise barely 17 percent of the commonwealth's mayors and only about 2 percent of police chiefs. And while one in five nonprofits is led by a woman, they—and we as a state—have a long way to go. We must take aim at these imbalances, and not just because they underrepresent the women who make up more than half of the workforce. The paucity of women leaders also does a disservice to the businesses and organizations they could help. Research shows that when women play a major role in decision- making, financial performance improves and innovation increases. The good news is that the MWLI study provides a baseline to gauge future improvements, and offers a model other states can follow. Closer to home, where Worcester is remaking itself as an up-and-coming city, the state's low score emphatically underscores the point that it's time to tap into the broader talent pool here in Central Massachusetts. Some of the local CEOs I speak with say that one of their biggest challenges is finding sufficient talent. But maybe they're not looking hard enough. It is worth noting that in higher education, Massachusetts and Worcester exceed the national average of women in leadership positions. Women hold the top roles at seven of 16 colleges and universities in Central Massachusetts. That's admittedly a small sample, but the 44 percent rate is 18 points higher than the rest of the country. The numbers are even more impressive for female school superintendents in the region: 44 percent compared to 42 percent throughout the state and 28 percent nationally. That suggests that the state's well- deserved reputation as the educational capital of the U.S. has a lot to do with who's running the schools. Years from now, we may not be having this conversation, and maybe the state's score on the MWLI will have soared into the high double digits. Our Institute for Women's Leadership, and similar initiatives at other colleges, will help shape a new generation of women and instill the confidence, negotiating skills, and vision that will transform leadership at the highest levels. For now, we need to do a lot better. n Susan West Engelkemeyer is president of Nichols College, in Dudley. Mass. must improve at elevating women into executive suite BY SUSAN WEST ENGELKEMEYER Special to the Worcester Business Journal V I E W P O I N T Susan West Engelkemeyer Worcester's pitch for PawSox B efore his sudden death last week at age 73, James Skeffington, true to his Rhode Island roots, was committed to keeping his Pawtucket Red Sox in the Ocean State, though he and the rest of the team's new ownership had already announced plans to leave Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium and push for a more modern, $85-million ballpark in Providence. With significant public money subsidizing the plan, state officials, especially Gov. Gina Raimondo, have balked. When Skeffington talked with the Worcester Business Journal in March about Worcester officials' efforts to bring the PawSox here, he expressed an interest in those efforts, even though his heart remained in Rhode Island. Skeffington's death may slow down the team's plans to leave Pawtucket in two or three years, possibly even leading the other owners — and whoever assumes Skeffington's share and leadership role — to look outside the state as a possible destination. The initial resistance in Rhode Island to a new stadium should embolden Worcester's efforts to pursue the team. It may be a long shot, but the possibility of the Red Sox's top minor-league affiliate landing in Central Massachusetts feels too good to take a pass. New Bedford and some other cities may arise as competition, but as New England's second-largest city, shouldn't Worcester deliver a pitch? n I n 2013, the percentage of Americans without health insurance had climbed to 18 percent from 14.6 percent just four years earlier. The Affordable Care Act helped drop that number to 12.9 percent late last year.

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