Excerpted from a column in the April 23 edition of the Los Angeles Business Journal by Michael Shaw, California legislative director for the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy group.
Healthcare has returned front and center to the political debate. Whether driven by presidential candidates or by the bipartisan efforts of our legislators in Washington, D.C., the issue has re-emerged with an even bigger “help wanted” sign in the windows of small-business owners across California.
While California’s policymakers are busying themselves trying to alleviate some of the pain,often going in directions that will only exacerbate it,a bigger national solution clearly is needed.
Just 43% of small-business-owning members of the National Federation of Independent Business can afford to provide health insurance. And, overwhelmingly, small businesses feel that crunch as they try to compete and hire the most talented workers in a highly competitive marketplace.
Small-business owners struggle with annual, double-digit insurance premium increases that make providing and maintaining coverage progressively difficult. It has been cited that insurance premiums for small groups or single coverage have increased by more than 82% since 2000. This is unsustainable for the long haul.
Last month, a small but important victory occurred in Washington for small businesses. It happened quietly, with little fanfare and even fewer front-page news stories. The Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan amendment to the budget bill that lays the financial groundwork for market-based, small-business pooling to be allowed in future health insurance proposals. This amendment helps pave the way for health-insurance reform that our nation’s small businesses need and will help reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of healthcare.
Building on this initial step, we must reiterate what California’s small-business owners want in a federal solution:
n Market-based reforms to expand competition and choice in the market to purchase private health insurance.
n Ability to create pooling arrangements across state lines.
n Tax incentives to help with the purchase of health insurance.
n Federal relief from state health insurance mandates.
On behalf of the tens of thousands of small businesses in California, here is our message: Help is wanted. Help is needed. There is a real opportunity to enact small-business healthcare reform, but the window is rapidly closing. The time to act is now.
