Small Business Owners Continuing to Struggle For Affordable Health Care

In this economy, small business owners are suffering.
With little bargaining power, businesses have often seen their health care premium costs growing quicker than their revenue.
Combine that with the nationwide slumps in sales of products and services, and you'll begin to understand why there is a great need for affordable health care.
Small business owners want to provide health care for their employees.
Providing benefits is one of the key factors in not only attracting quality workers, but in retaining them as well.
Employees facing health-related debts are finding themselves with no other choice than to leave their current job for one that provides health insurance.
Many business owners report costs rising as much as twenty percent within the last decade, forcing some to require bigger employee contributions, stop providing health insurance at all, or lay off workers.
There May be Hope, or Maybe Not The good side.
Congress is presently working on a health care overhaul.
Small business owners will see reduced prices through the use of insurance exchanges.
The plan also plans to give tax credits to small businesses that provide health care.
The size of the tax credit will be based on factors like employee salary, employer contribution, number of business employees and so forth.
There have also been provisions made to better regulate the market, and reduce the costs of things like underwriting fees.
The bad side.
Small business owners are unsure about the plans being presented.
Due to the lack of clarity about the health care reform, small businesses that already provide health care are concerned about the future.
Does the use of government sponsored programs mean that you and your employees will have to change doctors or networks? If there is a tax credit, how will it be paid for? Probably by a spike in taxes elsewhere.
And even though there will be regulations and fee cuts, these types of costs are usually passed down from the insurance providers to the consumer.
As of yet, there doesn't seem to be a plan that's right for everyone.
And it may be unrealistic to hope for one.
What You Can Do Research thoroughly.
Start locally by calling some insurance companies.
Visit your Chamber of Commerce or Department of Insurance and see if they offer plans for small businesses.
Use online services like EHealthInsurance, which let you compare plans and rates side by side.
Additionally, ask for higher deductibles and copays to keep your small business health insurance costs down.