07/28/2008
Booklet of personal stories highlights healthcare struggles faced by America's job creators
Contact: Stephanie Cathcart, 202-314-2056
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The National Federation of Independent Business, the nation's leading small business association, today began delivering to Capitol Hill "The Faces of the Healthcare Crisis: Small Business in America," a collection of stories that profiles small business owners on the frontlines of the healthcare crisis. NFIB is taking these stories to Congress and the next Administration to ensure the needs of this important constituency are fully considered in any proposed healthcare reform legislation. Hardcopies of the booklet were also distributed to thought leaders and select members of the media, and an electronic copy of the booklet can be accessed through www.FixedForAmerica.com.
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From left to right: Stephen Moore, The Wall Street Journal; Chris Frates, Politico; Ceci Connolly, Washington Post; and Dr. Bob Graboyes, NFIB. |
"This booklet puts a face to the people creating new jobs in this country, who are committed to growing their business, but are being crushed by skyrocketing healthcare costs," said Todd Stottlemyer, president and CEO of NFIB. "This election season, millions of voters are looking for candidates who will address rising healthcare costs, and more than 43 percent of these voters are small business owners or employees. These small business voters are asking for solutions to this healthcare crisis, and they are asking with their vote."
Despite generating half of America's GDP and creating two-thirds of net new jobs annually, small business continues to be crippled by the cost of healthcare. To learn more about the real-life healthcare challenges faced by these men and women, NFIB is holding a series of town hall-style meetings called "Fix-It Forums" across the country as part of Solutions Start Here, the organization's aggressive national healthcare campaign. These stories, now part of "The Faces of the Healthcare Crisis: Small Business in America," further illustrate the impact healthcare costs have had on small business.
"Our most significant challenge as a business is finding affordable healthcare," said Nevin Groce, who is featured in the booklet and owns L&G Industrial Products in Kentwood, Mich. "Every year we are faced with double-digit increases, and every year we have to determine whether we have to reduce the benefit or pass along the cost somehow through our company. At this rate, it will be impossible for us to keep up with rising costs unless significant changes are made."
"The Faces of the Healthcare Crisis: Small Business in America" will send a message to legislators: Small businesses are demanding solutions to rising healthcare costs, and they expect the next Administration and Congress to implement reform that works for them and considers their needs. This is a significant voting bloc that has ranked healthcare as their No. 1 issue for more than two decades. They must be part of any proposed healthcare legislation because when healthcare is fixed for small business, it's fixed for America.
For more information about Solutions Start Here or NFIB, please contact Stephanie Cathcart at 202-314-2056.
Solutions Start Here is a campaign developed and led by NFIB and its members as the small business platform for healthcare reform. By working to engage and educate policymakers about the unique healthcare issues faced by small business, Solutions Start Here will drive and integrate the concerns and needs of America's small business community into the national health reform debate. Because when healthcare is fixed for small business, it's fixed for America. For more information visit www.FixedForAmerica.com.
