IN THE STATES: Alabama Boost Small Business Health Coverage

Alabama 's Republican Gov. Bob Riley has signed a law that will expand the tax deductions small businesses can take for employee health care costs. Supporters say the goal is to keep people covered—and take enough strain off small businesses that they can create more jobs.

The measure, described in the Alabama Press-Register, would allow owners of businesses with 25 or fewer employees to deduct from their state income taxes 150 percent of their costs for employee health insurance premiums, up from 100 percent. Additionally, small business workers who make $50,000 or less annually can deduct 150 percent of their health insurance costs.

Riley said the new law will encourage firms to hire more workers, which will help the state's overall economy. Alabama has about a 15 percent uninsured rate, just below the national 16 percent rate.

The state seems to have put the uninsured on its radar screen. Earlier this spring, we wrote about a public-private sector initiative to cover all 5,000 uninsured kids in the city of Birmingham.