What it means: NFIB released a report on the health insurance affordability crisis impacting small business owners and identified top policy solutions for Congress to relieve the burden

Our take: “For nearly four decades, health insurance costs have been the number one concern for small business owners, and we are now at a breaking point. The small-group market is collapsing, premiums are unsustainable, and small businesses are being forced to make difficult choices. Without immediate and targeted policy reforms, millions of Americans may lose access to employer-sponsored health coverage,” saidJosselin Castillo, NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations. 

Take Action: Tell Congress to increase health care choices and lower costs for small businesses.

Ninety-eight percent of small businesses say they are concerned about whether they will be able to afford to continue offering health insurance in the next five years. NFIB released a report highlighting the affordability crisis and urging Congress to enact relief for small businesses across the nation.

The findings of the report reveal a growing crisis with enrollment in the small group market plummeting from 15 million individuals in 2014 to just 8.5 million in 2023, a 44% drop. Only 30% of small businesses still offer health insurance, which is down from nearly 50% in 2000, and small businesses pay twice as much as large businesses for health insurance, making them less competitive.

NFIB included a number of recommendations for Congress that would help ease this burden and allow more small businesses the ability to offer health insurance at a more affordable rate in order to remain competitive. The list of solutions includes:

• Support Small Businesses with Targeted Health Insurance Tax Credits
• Expand Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs)
• Expand Access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Eliminate One-Size-Fits-All Mandates That Drive Up Premium Costs and Limit Competition
• Promote Price Transparency and Price Certainty

Small business owners can learn more about other solutions and read the full report that NFIB released in February. Also, listen to the new episode of the Small Business Rundown podcast to hear about NFIB member Marcie Strouse testifying before Congress on how lawmakers can address the health insurance affordability crisis.

Take Action: Tell Congress to increase health care choices and lower costs for small businesses.