Health care issues for small business

Health care issues for small business are articulated clearly by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

They refer to the three C's of health care: cost, choice and competition.

When the NFIB refers to competition, I think of a comment by a health practitioner and executive who told me "the government shouldn't be in health care and large insurance companies shouldn't be in health care. The hospitals, physicians, and related services should be the ones in health care."

Cost: We must bring down the cost of insurance for small business and their employees. Currently, they pay 18% more for healthcare than big businesses. Creating an equal playing field starts with improving the small group insurance markets.

Choice: Small business owners and employees need more choices when shopping for insurance plans. Healthcare reform needs to expand the number of providers and affordable plans available to small businesses and their employees.

Competition: Lack of competition makes it easy for insurers and providers to raise their prices. In many states, small business owners have only one or two choices of insurance providers. A recent study shows that in most states, the five largest insurers control 90 percent of the market. We need more competition in the marketplace and access to larger purchasing pools to help lower the costs of insurance for small businesses.

For a related article on the NFIB visit Health mandates will hurt small business

Visit the NFB site at www.nfib.com