Bill > HB1472

This bill, the Better Small Business Employee Benefit Act of 2026, aims to streamline health benefit plan offerings for small employers in Maryland by exempting certain plans issued through Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) from specific state requirements. A PEO is defined as a business that contracts with another business to share employer responsibilities for their shared employees. The bill clarifies that health benefit plans offered to worksite employees of a PEO will be treated as a single employer welfare benefit plan, and it removes the requirement for carriers to offer qualified health plans through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) if the health benefit plan is issued through a PEO. Additionally, PEOs that provide health benefit plans to small employers must now provide written disclosures to those small employers detailing the benefits offered, any additional costs, and the right to terminate the agreement within 60 days. These changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2027, and will apply to all policies, contracts, and health benefit plans issued, delivered, or renewed in the state on or after that date.