Small Business Owners Spent More On Health Insurance Premiums This Year Than Last
On Thursday the NFIB announced the results of the third part of its multi-year national healthcare survey. The data, from 900 US small business owners who employ between two and 100 employees, show that small business owners across the US are facing ever-higher burdens from healthcare costs. The survey found that Obamacare hasn’t provided any relief for most small businesses in terms of health insurance premium costs. In fact, “63 percent of offering small employers experienced an increase in their employee premium cost between mid-2014 and mid-2015.” This compares with just 8 percent reporting lower premium costs and 27 percent reporting no change. The survey found that health insurance costs are prohibiting many small business from offering employees coverage. Of the 60 percent surveyed who said they don’t offer their employees health insurance, 52 percent cited costs as the primary reason. However, the statistic that perhaps best highlights the mounting costs of healthcare for small business owners is the number of small businesses in violation of a regulation that went into effect on July 1, 2015 that states that “employers who offer reimbursement for employees’ individual market health insurance can be fined $100 per day, per employee or $36,500 per employee, per year.” Despite this hefty fine, “16 percent of small employers are in violation of this new rule.” Perhaps most startling, an additional “20 percent of small employers are considering or seriously considering offering the prohibited benefit.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Small business owners continue to face the brunt of costs under Obamacare. As NFIB Research Director Holly Wade explained, “The Affordable Care Act may be providing some relief to certain Americans, but small business owners are largely not among them,” the Washington Examiner reported. Unfortunately, no relief is in while Obamacare continues.
Additional Reading
NFIB previously published Part 1 and Part 2 of its annual healthcare survey.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
