11/ 30/ 2007
As the 2008 presidential race gears up, NFIB focuses on its top legislative issue
What a difference a year makes. By this time next year, Americans will have elected a new president. Between now and then, candidates will debate every aspect of the economy, the war and the environment. And at the top of voters' domestic agenda, including that of small-business owners, is health care.
How do the presidential candidates plan to address what has consistently been called the looming crisis affecting this country?
In 2008, you'll hear White House hopefuls talk a lot about the 47 million uninsured Americans and the rising cost of health insurance. What they have to say on these subjects matters to you. In this Issue at Hand, NFIB takes a closer look at how some of the plans being proposed by the presidential candidates today will affect your business, your family and your health long after the ballots are cast and counted.
Annual increases in health-insurance premiums are routine for small-business owners these days. While the increases are not unexpected, they are both frustrating and worrisome. Since 1986, NFIB members have consistently ranked health-care costs as their No. 1 concern, according to NFIB's Problems and Priorities survey. Moreover, health-insurance premiums have increased a staggering 87 percent since 2000, and there doesn't seem to be any relief in sight.
Trying to keep up, 47 percent of small businesses still provide health insurance for their employees, and more than half of those businesses made changes to their plans in the last year to offset rising premiums.
The struggle to afford health insurance is especially hard on small-business owners. A lack of true choice in the small-group market, no real competition among providers, a lack of negotiating power and higher administrative costs are just some of the reasons why small businesses pay more for health insurance than their big business counterparts—a lot more. According to the Commonwealth Fund, small businesses spend 18 percent more than their larger counterparts for the same health insurance.
As costs continue to rise, so does the likelihood that business owners will be faced with a daunting choice—whether or not they can continue to offer health insurance.
"Unfortunately it's old news that health-insurance costs are climbing at an alarming rate," says Todd Stottlemyer, NFIB president and CEO. "As costs rise and choices vanish, small-business owners are challenged at so many levels—from providing benefits for themselves and existing employees, to offering plans that attract the high-quality talent they want in their workforce.
"During the 2008 election season, NFIB will be taking candidates to task on how their plans will address the health-care crisis our country's small-business owners face today."
Looking for relief
NFIB member Joy Staveley will pay close attention to the discussions involving health insurance during the presidential race. "I don't want to lose quality care," says Staveley, who along with her husband, Gaylord, owns Canyoneers, the oldest commercial river-running company in the Grand Canyon. "I will certainly be concerned about the health-care plans being proposed. Nobody wants to see people go without medical coverage, but the government can't provide everything to everyone. The bottom line is there's no free lunch."
For the Staveleys, group health insurance for themselves and their employees isn't an option because it's too expensive. Joy spends after-tax dollars to pay for an individual high-deductible policy for herself and their handful of year-round employees. (Most of their seasonal workers are college students who have their own separate coverage.)
"I definitely have opinions on the issue," Staveley says. "I have family and friends in England who tell me socialized medicine is not the answer. But having employers pay for everything isn't the answer either. I don't understand why government thinks employers have such deep pockets. It's like they think we can pay for everything, but we can't."
Staveley supports NFIB because she knows the organization is a voice for businesses like hers. "Being 59 years old and owning a business most of my life, I don't depend on anyone but myself," she says. "But I've been a longtime member of NFIB because it's an excellent organization that cares about its members' needs."
NFIB at work
Access to affordable, quality health care for small-business owners is NFIB's top legislative priority. We've worked hard on this and other small-business issues long before the campaign frenzy that precedes a presidential election. But as the races heat up, NFIB will make sure that candidates are aware that the nation's leading job creators—small-business owners—are watching and listening to learn how their plans will affect the most important sector of our economy.
Information is key to identifying the issues in the health-care debate that matter most to small business. The NFIB Research Foundation consistently surveys NFIB members and the small-business community as a whole to learn more about how proposals in Congress will affect small businesses in the everyday world. This year, NFIB will embark on two separate research projects to gain an even greater understanding about how a variety of legislative proposals will affect small business.
Coupled with the research, NFIB has launched the NFIB Health-Care Advisory Council. The council, which is comprised of key health-care policy experts, will give NFIB's public policy team input on how to evaluate various proposals and how they would affect the real world. The team will also provide valuable feedback and ideas about how to shape public policy initiatives that are truly beneficial to business owners. "While we have many allies on Capitol Hill and within government agencies, nothing is more important than input from men and women who get up every morning and move America forward," Stottlemyer says. The group will also provide feedback on initiatives offered by various presidential campaigns.
Finally, NFIB launched a new avenue to increase voter education and participation in fall 2007 with the kickoff of presidential town hall forums. The Tuesday Town Hall teleforums functioned much like radio call-in shows and gave members a chance to hear directly from the presidential candidates and to ask questions about issues important to their businesses. Many topics were discussed, but members made it clear that health care was their No. 1 concern. Candidates participating in the teleforums included former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson. In addition to those four candidates, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson were also invited to speak in the series, but at press time, no formal arrangements had been made. (For more information on the candidates' proposals, see page 30.)
While Election Day is critical for business owners, NFIB understands that the issue of health care will remain at the forefront no matter who is in office. As we work to elect pro-small-business candidates, we are also preparing for what is expected to be a large-scale effort aimed at reforming the entire health-care system in 2009. On both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue—the White House and the U.S. Capitol—NFIB will be at the center of the debate. Working for its members and small businesses across the nation, NFIB will fight to ensure that the voice, concerns and needs of small businesses are well represented—and heard.
NFIB wants your feedback on the issues covered in this article. Send your comments to feedback@mybusinessmag.com.
