Best Bosses Reveal Small Business' Concerns About Health Insurance
Clearly, something needs to be done to streamline or overhaul health insurance coverage nationwide. The most current federal data notes that 44.8 million Americans are without health insurance. This is nothing short of a crisis, says Andy Stern, international president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU is partnering with AARP and the Business Roundtable in a campaign called "Divided We Fail," which is pushing for fundamental change in the health care system using the influence of their combined 50 million members.
While the "Divided We Fail" partnership seeks bipartisan solutions to the health care debate, others see solutions emerging outside the political arena. In late March, Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that he believes the solution is to "get health-care financing out of the workplace and require coverage, more personal responsibility and market incentives." Berner believes that a consumer-driven health care model with universal mandated basic coverage would provide "a safety net for the disadvantaged."
We recently surveyed some of our Best Bosses to get their perspectives on this complicated issue. Of the 16 leaders we surveyed - encompassing a wide range of industries, with IT and telecommunications being most prevalent - 63 percent feel that employees are most responsible for ensuring that they receive adequate medical coverage. Thirty-eight percent feel this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the federal government, and 25 percent say it is up to insurance providers.
The bosses' comments related to this issue appear split between wanting the government and insurance providers to take responsibility and provide real solutions. The president and CEO of a hosted VoIP phone system provider on the East Coast says he would "make transparent the crappy service of insurance providers." Meanwhile, the president of a New England-based custom publishing and creative services company says that "If the insurance and health care providers cannot solve the problem, then I do think it is the responsibility of government to do so on behalf of employers and employees alike."
Despite the fact that rising health care costs have hit small businesses especially hard, these leaders are doing what they can to offset costs and keep their health care benefits attractive enough to retain employees. Sixty-three percent of the bosses provide a PPO benefit for their employees, 21 percent provide an HMO benefit and 8 percent allow employees to choose between the two benefits.
To minimize health insurance rate increases, 63 percent of the leaders we surveyed have increased employee co-pays in the last two years. Twenty-four percent have created health savings accounts (HSAs) for this purpose. One leader who put HSAs in place at his Midwest-based staffing agency also increased deductibles. This has helped manage costs while mitigating out-of-pocket expenses for his 12 full-time and 300 part-time employees.
One link in the chain of providing health care coverage that bridges federal government- and insurer-provided solutions is state-mandated health insurance benefits. According to recent data by the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, the number of state-mandated benefits grew by 3 percent in the last year. There are now over 1,900 such benefits nationwide. While Initiatives in Illinois, Massachusetts and California have been most visible, these benefits are quietly influencing how insurance companies cover specific health care providers and patient populations in every state.
Yet, without universal oversight and communication, many business leaders are left wondering how their employees are affected by their state's mandates. Sixty percent of the Best Bosses said they were unsure as to the impact of state-mandated benefits on their business. One leader, the co-owner of a computer and peripheral sales firm in Vermont, says that "with greater enrollments better economies of scale would help with efficiencies overall." However, he admits that state-sponsored health care is "not the ideal solution ... since the burden of paying for this would in essence be a regressive tax on businesses." The leader of the staffing firm previously mentioned, on the other hand, says he has "zero confidence" in his state's ability to manage health insurance, since they have bankrupted their own unemployment insurance program.
One thing is clear: If state governments are unable to step up their efforts on the health care front, and if the federal government does not put forth universal direction, then the onus for providing adequate coverage for employees falls fist on employers, then on workers themselves. And considering that small organizations account for 99.7 percent of all employer firms (according to the latest Small Business Administration estimates), even if they remain partially responsible, it is an unduly large burden to carry.
"Health insurance is a basic right of every citizen and should not be affected by their current employment status," the business manager of a professional services firm on the East Coast tells us.
___________________________
By the Numbers:
16 Best Bosses surveyed Most companies (56%) have 1-100 employees A majority of respondents (63%) are both owner and leader of their business 31% of companies have offices in multiple U.S. states
Related Tags: small business, health insurance, coverage, employee, carrier, federal government, insurance provider
______________________________________________
Winning Workplaces' goal is to provide small and midsize employers with proven, practical, and affordable people practices. Too often, the information and resources needed to create a high-performance workplace are out of reach for all but the largest organizations. Winning Workplaces is changing that by offering employers affordable consulting, training and information. We help employers assess needs and develop strategies to improve their workplace practices.
For more information, please contact us at: http://www.winningworkplaces.org
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- 8 Differences Between Traditional Businessmen And Entrepreneurs
The difference between traditional businessmen and entrepreneurs is not huge-it could be a thin-line - Airless Container Packaging Technology
The choice of an airless container wasn't an impulsive decision for many brand marketers nowadays. T - Laser Processing Of Metals
You may have known that lasers produce very powerful and exact beams of light. As a result, they can - Titanium Metal Powder
Have you ever thought about that how a heavy aircraft can fly high in the air without falling to the - Race To Icd-10 In Healthcare Outsourcing
Healthcare organizations are running a race against time to achieve ICD-10 compliance in medical bil - Benefits Of Tig Welding Machines - The Leading Special Welding Machines
The TIG welding process allows a welder exacts controls which result in a clean weld blob. TIG weldi - Full Time It Support Or Flexible It Support?
When you're choosing what type of IT support to take on for your business, it can be tricky to deter - The Best Sticker Products - Vinyl, Motorcycle & Helmet Stickers
Are you looking for some of the really best sticker printing products? If yes, then it is none other - Jobs At Home: 5 Practical Tips That Will Help Work-at Home Moms Get Organized
As a work at home mom who has successfully been doing it for quite a while now, I have realized that - Choose A Right Virtual Assistant Company For Your Staffing Difficulty
If you simply waste your precious time on daily routines that can easily assign to an employee, Virt
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Discover How to Entertain on a Budget
To most people these two words, entertain and budget, are miles apart. But they don't have to be. Wh - Six Reasons the Merlin Magix is Ideal for your Business
Why the Merlin Magix Phone System Integrated Phone System is ideal as your business phone system - Indian IT's Off-shore Gains
recent revised guidance of Satyam Computer Services (Satyam), the over $1-billion Indian IT se - 7 Sure-Fire Time Management Tricks To Get More Done
Do you know why you don't get all the stuff on your to-do list done? Sometimes it's as sim - How to be Successful in Business
Starting a business and making it work is the primary purpose for having a business to begin with. I - Setting Up a Decorative Painting Portfolio - How Do You Do It?
Setting up a professional looking portfolio is essential to impressing and obtaining clients as they - Home Business Taxes-How To Stop Taxes In Your Home Business From Sneaking Up On You
"Sixty thousand dollars? You guys are joking right?" I had just completed my first year of being fai - The #1 Small Business Phone System
T h e N o . 1 s m a l l - b u s i n e s s phone s y s t e m . . . s i m p l y p o w e r f u l . . .p - Training Employees Within A Budget
Businesses have spent a lot on employee training and their development in order to improve sales, cu - Hollander Consultants Ends 2006 with its Second Highest Year Ever
Hollander Consultants Also has Second Highest 4th Quarter Ever Tualatin, OR: Hollander C