WASHINGTON – Unless Congress passes a healthcare reform overhaul, employees who work for small businesses are at risk of losing their healthcare coverage, according to a new report.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills, who released the report on Tuesday, said it underscores the financial difficulties small businesses face in providing health insurance to their employees.
"More Americans who work for a small business have lost their health insurance coverage, and those who still have coverage have seen their costs go up," Sebelius said. "Health insurance reform will drive costs down and make it easier for small business owners to give their employees the quality coverage they need."
According to Mills, the cost of health insurance is the number one concern of small business owners.
"On average, small businesses pay 18 percent more than big businesses for the same health insurance policy," Mills said. "This has left small business owners in an untenable situation, having to choose between their employees, who are often like family to them, and the bottom line."
"Healthcare reform will provide small business owners with greater access to the affordable, quality coverage they want and need for themselves and their employees," she added.
The report shows that employees of small businesses are 50 percent more likely to lose coverage than workers at large businesses, and half of all workers in small firms that do not offer health benefits are uninsured.
Premiums for employer-based health insurance have more than doubled since 2000, rising three times faster than wages. As a result, fewer small businesses provide coverage for their employees. In 2000, 57 percent of firms employing less than 10 workers provided coverage; in 2009, only 46 percent provided coverage, the report found.
Sebelius said health insurance reform will stabilize health insurance coverage for Americans who work for small businesses. It would also provide small businesses with tax credits when they provide health insurance for their employees.
Under President Barack Obama's proposal to create a public health insurance exchange, Americans without access to affordable insurance on the job would be able to compare prices and health plans and decide which quality affordable option is right for them. The exchange would also significantly reduce administrative costs for small businesses by enabling them to compare the prices, benefits and performance of health plans, Sebelius said.
