Missouri Small Business Owners
Eager for Health Care Reform
Research Shows Small Business Owners Willing
to Be Part of Solution That Makes High-Quality Health Care
Available to All
Saint Louis, Mo, .July 7 -- Recent research shows
the majority of Missouri small business owners believe health
care reform is necessary, and they are willing to be part
of a solution that controls costs and guarantees coverage
for everyone.
A statewide survey of 200 small business owners conducted
by Small Business Majority, a leading national small business
advocacy organization focused on health care reform, found
that affordability is the primary obstacle for small business
owners in obtaining health insurance.
-
89 percent of Missouri small businesses not offering health
insurance say it is due to cost.
-
72 percent of small businesses that do offer health insurance
are struggling to provide it.
Small business owners also see the cost of health
insurance as a significant barrier to entrepreneurship and
say reform is important in helping the economy recover.
Missouri was one of 14 states Small Business Majority has
surveyed in the last two months. Four other Midwestern states
were included as well - Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
"Small business owners aren't shirking their responsibility
where health care is concerned," said John Arensmeyer,
founder and chief executive of Small Business Majority. "They
feel a responsibility to provide health care for their employees
and are willing to do their part in fixing our broken system."
"It's important to keep ourselves informed so we can
help shape discussions on health care change," said Dr.
James R. Kimmey, president and chief executive officer of
the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH), which funded Small
Business Majority's study in Missouri. "Business owners
in our state need to talk to their legislators about the importance
of guaranteed affordable choice in health insurance. They
must tell lawmakers about the problems they have faced obtaining
coverage and care, and let them know where improvement is
needed."
The report found that 69 percent of Missouri small business
people support having the option of a private or public health
insurance plan as part of health care reform. They also believe
individuals, employers, insurers, the government and health
care providers should share the responsibility for making
coverage more affordable.
In addition, most Missouri small business owners believe the
federal government should have a role in achieving reform.
Fifty-nine percent say employers, individuals and the government
should share responsibility in making health care more affordable.
Nineteen percent want to replace the current system with government-provided
health care.
Additional findings in the Missouri report include:
-
65 percent say health care reform is important to getting
the economy back on track.
-
58 percent believe their company has a responsibility to
provide health coverage for its employees.
-
76 percent of small businesses support establishing a health
insurance pool to create a marketplace where small businesses
and individuals choose their coverage.
-
82 percent of small businesses want to eliminate preexisting
condition rules.
-
55 percent believe that businesses that don't offer health
insurance should be required to pay something to cover their
employees.
The full Small Business Majority report and
other data resources will be available July 8 at http://www.mffh.org/smallbusinesshealth.php.
Cover Missouri is an MFH project to provide quality, affordable
health coverage for every Missourian. Learn more about Cover
Missouri at www.covermissouri.org. The Missouri Foundation
for Health (www.mffh.org) is the largest nongovernmental funder
of health activities in the state.
Small Business Majority conducts extensive scientific
polling and research to determine small business owners' perspectives
on health care reform, and brings a nonpartisan voice to policy
discussions nationwide. Based in Sausalito, Calif., with offices
in Washington, D.C., and New York City, the organization works
with small business owners, health care policy experts and
elected officials nationwide.
###