By Bruce Schreiner
The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Mongiardo on Thursday proposed tax credits as a financial cushion to help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees.

Mongiardo also said he wanted to give small-business owners access to the same health plan available to members of Congress. Mongiardo, a Democrat who is also a physician, unveiled his plan outside a business that is struggling to afford health coverage.

"Sadly, it's becoming harder and harder for these businesses to provide health insurance for their employees," Mongiardo said.

Mongiardo said his opponent, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, is "not doing what it takes" to ease the financial burden on small businesses to cover health care.

Bunning campaign manager David Young said Bunning has steadfastly supported small business and efforts to control their health costs.

Bunning is running for a second term.

"If he (Mongiardo) was really serious about controlling health costs, he would support serious medical liability reform and stop personal injury lawyers from filing frivolous, costly lawsuits against doctors and business owners," Young said.

Young also noted that Bunning has been endorsed by the Kentucky Medical Association.

Mongiardo has been aggressively promoting his ideas on a range of issues in recent weeks in hopes of boosting his name recognition against the better-known and better-financed Bunning.

Nearly 60 percent of Kentuckians rely on small employers for health insurance, Mongiardo said.

He said double-digit increases in health insurance costs have forced some businesses to drop coverage.

Nationally, Mongiardo estimated his plan would cost $6 billion to $7 billion.

He proposed paying for it by "redirecting" tax breaks given to the nation's top 1 percent of wage earners.

His plan drew an appreciative response from the owner of the business where he made the announcement.

Milton R. Haskins Jr., president of HDDS Inc., an architectural and engineering design firm, said his health insurance costs have doubled in two years.

"We have to be very creative in my business of cutting other things out of the budget just to be able to afford health insurance for my employees," Haskins said.