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Executive Summary
When it comes to health care, American small business owners are getting a raw deal.
While the current insurance marketplace offers some options to
larger employers, it too often leaves small business owners on the
outside looking in. They face unpredictable changes in costs, and far
too often they are forced to choose between covering employees and the
very survival of their businesses.
One crucial test of any
health reform proposal is whether it offers a better deal to American
small businesses. But the key Washington lobbies who claim to represent
small businesses have been historically aligned with the political
interests most opposed to reform.
To more accurately reflect the diversity of views of small
businesses on health care, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group has
let small business owners to speak for themselves. Three hundred and
forty-three small business owners and managers across the country made
their views heard through a survey which investigated the impact of
health care costs on their businesses.
Survey Results:
Our
efforts revealed that small businesses who do not currently offer
coverage would overwhelmingly like to, but are stymied by high costs,
complications and red tape.
We discovered that those entrepreneurs who do make the sacrifices
necessary to provide health care consider it less a moral obligation
than a smart business strategy to increase employee productivity and
attract and retain talented employees.
Finally, we discovered that only a fraction of small business owners
surveyed believed that their voices were being heard in the current
health care debate.
* 78% of small businesses who do not offer coverage would like to do so.
* 80% of those owners who would like to offer coverage cite cost as a barrier
* 17% of those owners who would like to offer coverage say that they do not offer coverage because it is too complicated
* 55% of small businesses offering coverage do so to attract and retain good employees
* 27% of small businesses offering coverage do so to increase worker productivity
* Only 24% of owners surveyed felt that their interests were represented in the current health reform debate
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