08/20/2008
Strange bedfellows?
"Barb, is this for real?" was the voice on the phone. "Has NFIB really joined with the AARP and a labor union?"
The caller was the second Hoosier legislator to call me in a week to ask about NFIB's participation in Divided We Fail, the national coalition urging healthcare reform. I'm sure you've seen the ads on TV that call for a bipartisan approach featuring a character with an elephant on one end and a donkey kicking up its heels on the other.
The legislator called regarding a pledge she had received from Divided We Fail that she was being asked to sign. At the bottom of the page were the logos of AARP, the Business Roundtable, the NFIB and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The caller was shocked that the NFIB would have joined together with organizations with which we are sometimes on opposite ends of issues at the statehouse and in DC. She wanted to make sure that NFIB was backing this initiative before she signed.
Shocking maybe, but true. Healthcare reform is that important and that urgent.
Since our legislators have questions about our involvement in Divided We Fail, I thought a discussion in "Capitol Capers" might be in order. The issue of affordable healthcare has been building for a number of years and has now reached crisis levels.
A trip down memory lane
I was a small business owner myself for 20 years and first became a member of NFIB in 1985. (Yes, I'm that old.) And as long as I can remember, healthcare has been the top issue for small business owners. With NFIB leading the charge, we defeated the onerous "Hillarycare" in the '90s. It was a huge win for small business. However, the dilemma of providing affordable health insurance for our families and our employees continues to this day to plague us. This issue now has reached perilous proportions.
Here are the facts:
- There are an estimated 47 million Americans without health insurance in America today. Of these, more than 28 million are small business owners, their employees and dependents.
- Small businesses have seen their healthcare premiums rise 129 percent over the last eight years.
- Small businesses pay an average of 18 percent more than big businesses for the same healthcare benefits.
- Small businesses don't enjoy the same tax benefits, coverage or pooling options as the big guys do under current law.
Discussing NFIB's role in DWF, Todd Stottlemyer, president and CEO of NFIB, said, "For 20 straight years, small businesses have said that healthcare costs are their No. 1 challenge. But things haven't gotten any better. In fact, they're getting worse. We simply can't say that healthcare is our top priority and be content with the stalemate over reform. We must find a way to fundamentally alter the forces driving up costs, or our efforts will be for naught.
"Small business owners, their employees and dependents make up the largest segment of the uninsured population. So no discussion of healthcare should take place without us at the table. Our four organizations have successfully put aside our ideological differences to truly encourage change, and we will continue to urge politicians to do the same."
Solutions Start Here
While NFIB has joined the DWF coalition, it is important to note that NFIB has its own very detailed healthcare reform campaign: "Solutions Start Here." NFIB continues to maintain its independence on this and other important issues facing small business.
"Solutions Start Here" 10 principles for healthcare reform:
- Universal: Everyone should have access to quality healthcare.
- Private: Private business, not government, should provide most healthcare and insurance.
- Affordable: Healthcare shouldn't bankrupt you, and costs should be predictable.
- Unbiased: Big companies, small companies and individuals should all buy health insurance on the same level playing field.
- Competitive: Consumers shopping for health insurance should have many choices among insurers, doctors and hospitals.
- Portable: You should be able to move or change jobs without worrying about losing your health insurance.
- Transparent: Information on costs and quality of care should be easily available. Also, patients' privacy must be protected.
- Efficient: You should get the highest quality and most value out of the dollars you spend on healthcare.
- Evidence-Based: The best treatment choices require good information on the available options.
- Realistic: Healthcare reform must proceed quickly, but not recklessly.
Speaking of pledges
Have you signed the "Solutions Start Here" petition? If you haven't, please go to www.fixedforamerica.com/, check out the campaign details and add your name to the growing list of small business owners demanding healthcare reform.
Dates to remember
Oct. 7: NFIB/Indiana Leadership Council meeting. Skyline Club, Indianapolis.
Oct. 9: Last day to register to vote in the November elections
And furthermore
Please give me your feedback. I enjoy hearing from you and I appreciate your comments. Thank you for being an NFIB member and for reading "Capitol Capers."
Barbara Quandt
NFIB Indiana State Director
317-638-4447
Barbara.Quandt@nfib.org
