Most Small Firms Don't Offer Health Insurance

Current economics on small businesses and health insurance...and they also see the US economy taking forefront to the war...BD 

Healthcare costs are a perennial burden for small businesses and a new poll released today finds that 77 percent of small business owners do not offer health insurance to their employees.  Discover Business Card's survey also found that 39 percent of small business owners said the cost of health care has a major impact on their ability to grow. More than half of respondents said obtaining affordable health insurance for employees was very difficult.

*40 percent of employers who offer healthcare coverage have considered discontinuing it because of its high cost;

*34 percent of small business owners said employees go without health insurance;

*25 percent of small business owners said they are uninsured - an increase from 18 percent who said the same last year;

*Among small business owners who have healthcare coverage, 27 percent are insured by another family member's plan, while 35 percent have purchased coverage separately.

Separately, Discover released its monthly "small business watch" survey today and kicked off 2008 with findings that 74 percent of small business owners feel that economic conditions are getting worse. Thirty-five percent of small business executives picked the economy as the most important issue in the presidential campaign, followed by the war in Iraq and then government ethics and corruption.

Study: Most Small Firms Don't Offer Health Insurance - Small Business