 The
Voice of Small Business
By Todd Stottlemyer
Senate Needs to Provide Relief from Rising Health-Care Costs
During the past five years, small-business
owners have seen the highest increases ever in their health-care
costs, a problem that virtually everyone agrees is unsustainable.
More than 27 million of the uninsured across America are
small-business owners, employees, or dependents of small
businesses with less than 100 employees. They account
for the largest segment of the uninsured population.
Small-business owners want to take care of their employees
and their families, but it’s become increasingly
unaffordable when they face double-digit increases year
after year. And they are feeling the effects. In 2000,
47 percent of those NFIB members surveyed cited health-care
costs as a “critical” problem. In 2004, two-thirds
of respondents listed health-care costs as a “critical”
problem. That’s a 40 percent increase over a four-year
period.
Not only do they have the desire to provide good health-care
benefits to their workers, they also feel they must do
this to compete with big business and big labor. Small
businesses don’t mind competing, and they compete
successfully against larger companies every day. All they
ask for is a level playing field. But, the facts show
that only 41 percent of firms with nine employees or less
can afford to offer health benefits, compared with 99
percent of large firms. Small-business owners want to
offer competitive benefits so they can recruit and maintain
good employees.
After many years of fighting to allow small business
to have more of a voice in their health care choices,
there is a strong bipartisan bill in the Senate from Sen.
Mike Enzi of Wyoming, chairman of the Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee, and Democratic Sen. Ben
Nelson of Nebraska. They both agree that something must
be done soon to help curb costs for America’s small
business.
S. 1955, “The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization
and Affordability Act of 2005,” will allow for the
creation Small-Business Health Plans, which will give
small employers the same buying power as Fortune 500 companies
and unions.
In addition to addressing the fairness issue, S.1955
also will lower health-insurance premiums by double digits
for small employers nationwide, and provide coverage for
significantly more uninsured people, according to an independent
actuarial study conducted by Mercer Oliver Wyman.
And the bill has gained support that goes beyond party
lines. A recent national survey showed that 89 percent
of voters—Republicans, Democrats and Independents—favor
SBHP legislation. This survey makes it clear that to the
American public, this isn’t a partisan issue, and
it shouldn’t be in Washington, either. This isn’t
about politics – it’s about giving small businesses
relief from soaring health-insurance costs.
To demonstrate the broad support for SBHPs, last week
we delivered nearly 450,000 petitions from small-business
owners to every Senate office.
We expect the full Senate to consider and vote on S.1955
in the second or third week of May. Unlike the House of
Representatives where a simple majority is all that is
required to pass legislation, we will most likely need
60 votes in the Senate in order to pass S.1955.
The time for the Senate to act is now. America’s
small businesses are the heart and soul, not to mention
the job creation engine, of our economy. Please urge the
Senate to pass S.1955 and make health care work for small
business, so small business can keep working for America.
For more information about SBHPs, go to www.SBHPAlert.com
Todd Stottlemyer is the president of the National Federation
of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small-business
advocacy group. A non-profit, non-partisan organization
founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of
its 600,000 members in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state
capitals. More information about NFIB is available online
at www.NFIB.com.
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