Few Able To Provide Key Benefit
A new
survey released by Gallup on Wednesday, the Sam’s Club/Gallup Microbusiness
Tracker, finds that while the vast majority of microbusiness owners have health
insurance, just 31% provide it for themselves through their businesses or out
of pocket. An equal number have insurance through a former or current employer
(other than their own business), while a further 19% are dependent on Medicare.
Microbusinesses, defined as having five or fewer employees, are too small to be
able to negotiate lower insurance premiums and generally pay far higher rates
per employee compared to larger businesses. Not surprisingly, the poll showed
that 41% of microbusiness owners are concerned about a significant rise in the
cost of health benefits over the next year.
What This Means For Small Business:
As health insurance
costs rise, the ability to continue offering the benefit becomes more difficult.
Small businesses find that options to controlled cost increases are more
limited as insurance companies pass along costs related to new health insurance
requirements.
Additional Reading:
Gallup posted the survey results on their
website.
This news article is intended to keep small business owners apprised of current events that may affect them. It does not necessarily reflect NFIB’s policy position on such issues.
