Health Care Woes Continue

Rising health care costs hit all Americans and all American companies in the pocketbook, but microenterprises (with less than 10 workers) are among the most hard-hit. A new survey from the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) tells the depressing story. NASE surveyed more than 600 small business owners to assess how they deal with rising health care costs. The survey found that a majority of surveyed firms (51.1%) of firms do not now offer and do not plan to offer health care coverage for themselves or their employees. Cost is the primary inhibiting factor, and, not surprisingly, the smallest firms are most affected by these costs. Firms with less than ten employees spend roughly 4% of total gross revenue on health care. Sadly, the situation may be getting worse. Eighty-five percent of respondents noted that their health care premiums had jumped in the past year, with a median increase of a whopping 17.3%.

To view the September 2005 report, Health Coverage and the Micro-Business: A National Perspective, from the National Association for the Self-Employed, click here.