Fresh Healthy Body

Though the recent campaign for presidency brought affordable health care into the limelight, many small business owners and their employees felt this struggle long before it gained public attention. One of President Obama’s campaign calling cards is his plan for affordable health care. Intertwined within the general theme of affordable health insurance was the more specific aid to assist small businesses in providing health care for their employees.

If California is any indication of the lack of affordable health care in small businesses created in the rest of the United States, there is a major problem. According to Small Businesses for Affordable Healthcare, out of all the businesses in California, more than three million employees are uninsured. Those who do have the luxury of health insurance provided by their small business employers have faced a rise in premium costs at over fifty percent. These grim numbers have made small businesses in California less than an ideal place to work.

In January 2008, the House Committee on Small Business met with many small business owners and heard first hand of the obstacles often faced by countless entrepreneurs. Though close to fifty million individuals nationwide struggle with being uninsured, more than half of these are either employees of small business owners, or the employers who operate the businesses. The magnitude of these statistics is outrageous, and small business owners have tried, unsuccessfully thus far, to fight a seemingly never ending cycle.

Business are, unjustifiably so, having to make harsh decisions, such as laying off some employees in order to provide health insurance to those they choose to remain employed. Resources that should be spent developing and growing a business are instead being put to use dealing with the incredible amount of medical claim paperwork. Businesses are literally failing, in part, due to this health care crisis.

An article from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation cited business owners as listing health care costs to be the most important problem they deal with in the companies. Imagine beginning employed with a small business and having a particular health care plan. Then, as time goes by, the business you work for begins cutting various benefits out of your health care plan and asking you to pay more and more of the premiums. This is exactly what many small business employees face. Because of rising health care costs, employers are unable to keep up with existing plans. In order to keep the employees insured, sacrifices must be made.

Although developing policy that will provide affordable health care in small businesses is not necessarily a new venture, small business owners and their employees are putting their hope in the new presidential administration to finally “get the job done.” They wish to be able to offer a good, affordable health care plan to their employees and focus on growing the business. More than anything, they are fed up with having to make a decision between the two.

How it plays out, the world shall see.