Be the voice of small business and make your voice heard with your elected officials in the Rhode Island legislature.

State policymakers and regulators are considering a merger between the state’s two largest hospital groups in Rhode Island, Lifespan and CNE, which is estimated to make up 80% of the market share for hospital services in the state. The impact on small businesses must be closely examined.

NFIB wants to ensure those overseeing this process remember that small businesses are already struggling with the cost of offering affordable health insurance. We ask that you contact those who oversee this process and urge them to consider the cost impact on the state’s employers and workers. Health costs are a top concern for small business owners and lawmakers must take steps to lower the price tag of care, not create an environment where costs may rise even higher than present levels.

We ask that you send comments for the public hearing process and include how increasing health expenses impact your business. Keep the following questions in mind when crafting your letter:

• Do you offer health insurance to your workers? How many workers do you employ?
• Have employee deductibles increased over the last 10 years?
• Have you increased the share of health insurance premiums that your employees must pay?
• What has your average increase in health insurance costs been over the last 3 years? 6 years? 10 years?
• In order to offer health insurance, have you had to cut back or not offer other workers’ benefits?
   

Your story gets the attention of policymakers. NFIB makes it easy for you to contact policymakers using our action alert system by providing a draft message that you can customize. We urge you to use the answers to the questions above in the customization of your letter.

Click here to share your story with lawmakers!