04/16/2008
CONTACT: Bob Hallstrom, 402-474-3570 or Todd Pack, 615-872-5897
NFIB/Nebraska part of Divided We Fail coalition
LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Nebraska Legislature today passed a resolution praising the National Federation of Independent Business and other groups for their efforts to reform the state and nation's healthcare system as part of the bipartisan Divided We Fail coalition.
Besides NFIB, the nation's leading small business association, the coalition includes AARP, Business Roundtable and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Citing the need for families to find affordable healthcare, the Legislature passed Legislative Resolution 238, which says "individuals, businesses, healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations and government must work together to find solutions" to the healthcare crisis. LR 238 "urges our state and federal elected officials and candidates to consider ways we can be united."
In addition to its part in Divided We Fail, NFIB recently launched Solutions Start Here, an aggressive campaign urging policymakers to deliver real and meaningful healthcare reform for small businesses.
"Our members tell us their biggest problem right now is healthcare," said Bob Hallstrom, state director of NFIB/Nebraska. "Rising costs make it harder and harder for small business owners to afford health insurance for their employees and their families."
Only 47 percent of the nation's small businesses offer health benefits, according to a study by the NFIB Research Foundation. One percent to two percent of small businesses drop health benefits each year, and many new businesses cannot afford to offer it, the study said.
"Small business has reached the breaking point," Hallstrom said. "NFIB is committed to addressing the rising cost of healthcare by effecting meaningful reform, because when the system is fixed for small business, it will be fixed for America."
