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Survey Says: Most Small Businesses Support Repeal of Health-Care Reform
Citing rising costs, more than half of business owners want to do away with the health-care reform law President Obama signed last year.
Posted 1/ 24 11 at 9:45 PM | Business Trends, Technology, Management, Leadership, Legal Issues, Business Products & Services, Health, Human Resources, Software
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How's this for a mixed bag? Small business owners are angry (most want to do away with health-care reform), yet happy (most think business will improve in 2011), while more are walking around with their heads in the clouds (so to speak). Here's a closer look at some of the latest small-business surveys.Rejecting Health-Care Reform
More than half (55 percent) of small-business owners support repeal of health care reform, according to a survey conducted in early January by Discover Small Business Watch. Forty-six percent say health-care reform, as it currently stands, will hurt their businesses, while 27 percent say it will help.
Most of the business owners cite cost as the major factor in their dissatisfaction, with nearly half (47 percent) of those who currently provide health insurance considering eliminating it due to its high cost. (A word of warning: It will be especially hard to hold on to valuable employees if you ditch their health coverage.) On the other hand, 69 percent of business owners say it's hard to find affordable health care for themselves and their employees, an increase of 4 points from last year.
The House voted earlier this month to repeal the law signed by President Obama on March 23, 2010, but the move was seen as largely symbolic because it is not expected to survive in the Senate.
Small Businesses Ready to Spend
Small-business owners are rarin' to go, according to Manta's Pulse of Small Business Survey. Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed -- most of whom have fewer than 10 employees -- plan to invest in expanding their businesses in 2011, which is a drastic contrast to the 85 percent who made across-the-board spending cuts in 2010.
Nearly half (47 percent) say their biggest expenditures will go toward marketing and sales, 24 percent will invest primarily in business development, and 23 percent plan to spend on marketing and advertising. These are all sales functions, which makes sense to me -- small businesses need to get more business in the pipeline.
Cloudy and Bright?
More and more small-business owners have their heads in the "cloud" -- and that's a good thing. According to a cloud survey conducted by 7th Sense Research for Microsoft, 12 percent of small and midsize businesses have used cloud-based services to help start their businesses. Among the SMBs familiar with cloud computing, 29 percent say companies that operate in the cloud are more innovative, and 29 percent also say the cloud enables IT to be more strategic.
What are small businesses doing in the cloud? Twenty percent use or plan to implement the cloud for e-mail and communication, while 18 percent use cloud-based computer backup and storage services.
One big allure of computing in the cloud is cost. The "low cost of ownership" was cited by 42 percent of SMBs as the reason they turned to the cloud, 49 percent say using the cloud has "improved their bottom lines, and 40 percent say they've already saved money.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a content and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. Follow Rieva at Twitter.com/Rieva, and visit SmallBizDaily.com to sign up for her free TrendCast reports.
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Comments (Page 1 of 3)
I can't understand the veracity of the results from the survey. I was a small business owner that went out of business due to the excessivly high group medical expense that our company provided for our over 100 employees. The factors that drove up our group medical bills were the age and pre-existing condition of our employees. If we didn't provide the insurance for our employees we would have lost them to competitors that did offer the group medical coverages-no employees meant no production-end of business. On the other hand, to keep the high-cost group medical insurance drove us out of business due to illiquidity. Our insurers always told us that if we had more employees making a larger risk pool, our premiums would have gone down.
In my way of thinking, a larger risk pool such as a total USA polulation plan would offer reduced the risk for the insurer (the USA Gov't.) and lower the premiums for each enrolee.
If the small business owners think they can get by without providing insurance for their employees, who bears the cost of the medical proceedures if the employee can't pay. Doesn't that become a bad-debt for the doctor and the hospital until 2014 when so-called "O'bama-care" kicks-in? If so, those accumulated bad-debts must have an impact on the doctor and hospital's charges making them increase to offset the losses.
I would think that doctors, hospitals and insurance companys should love O'bama-care if all the bills are paid by the government.
If the government is planning on reducing the payment rates to the doctors and hospitals then it is about time that surgeons practice the
medical code they swore to become doctors.
agree w the 'large pool ' idea -- open up access across state lnes!
The problem is our government. If we think we have a problem today with Health Care, wait until ObamaCare takes hold of your wallet and your healthcare decisions. If the government is not the answer. The american people can and will get the job done if the government stops interferring with our personel rights of choose.
The large pool idea is FALSE. I own a consulting company that finds real solutions to Group Insurance cost in STL. The number one cost for any group is the fixed cost of pharmacy and the resulting health problems brought on by the members lifestyle. For example, an overweight person can be on 5-10 medications with the real cost (not co-pays) of over $1,000 per month, that's before any doctor or hospital cost. I have healthy groups with less than 10 lives paying half the premium per member than group of over 100 lives.
"Discover Small Bussiness Watch" is a made up survey that is run by the right wing republicans designed to fool the stupid in this country.........these nutbags will do whatever it takes to get the money and could care less about what is right for the country.
I'd like to see a survey of numbers of people that want health-care vs. those that don't. I don't think a survey of small business owners is a valid comparision to individual people who want the health-care.
Evidently, most small business owners aren't paying for their employees medical coverage now, which is why they are resisting it.
The companies that are being hurt by the huge company-paid medical expenses are probably medium and large businesses.
Some organization should poll the workers for their viewpoint about health-care, not just the small business owners.
GET RID OF OBUMMA HE SNEAKS EVERYTHING NINTO HEALTCARE EXTRA PIPE TOBACCO TAX THAT PUT CIGAR STORES OUT OF BUSINESS HOUSIG TAX WHEN U SELL YOUR HOUSE TO MUCH RED TAPE THE 1099 600 DOLLAR REPORTING JUST STUPID
I found the quip about holding on to valuable employees without having health care particularly amusing. Does the writer seriously think that that is even a consideration in a work force environment where the job can be outsourced overseas or insourced with an illegal alien? What a freaking farce. Business doesn't give a damn about their employees. They give a damn about profit margin and that's it. Pay attention moron. The game changed ten years ago.
Yes, you CAN buy car insurance after you have had an accident, which will cover you for your next accident. Insurance companies were dropping people for one time illnesses, such as arthritis -- it doesn't mean the next time a person needs medical attention it is the same problem, perhaps they break a leg or have a heart attack... The issue people don't realize is that most folks WILL pay something under the HC reform. Without HC reform, people without insurance STILL get medical treatment, it's just not us paying the tab...
Can I buy automobile insurance after I have an accident and fire insurance after I have a fire? Sounds ridiculous but now health insurers have to provide insurance for pre-existing conditions. Insurance is meant to cover potential but yet unknown conditions not pre-existing conditions. That's like being able to buy fire insurance to cover damages after a fire and automobile insurance after an accident. Insurance by it's very nature is meant to cover unforeseen damages. However, conditions that develop or become known after the insurance is purchased should be covered just as poor wiring in a house that causes a fire after buying the insurance would cover the damages. The key is that unknown conditions are covered not known ones.
Jim from Dayton
I am a retired now, but did work for small businesses and a large NY corporation. Also, I was the owner of a small business. The Obama health care bill would been of little or no benifit to me or my employees.Even though there are a few features that are good, it is time to start over. We must lower overall cost, put caps on medical malpractice, make insurance portable and competitive in all states.
Fella, I read about 1/3 of your post before my eyes played out looking at your memo in all caps. It may be easier for you to see, but it literally hurts my eys to the point that I give up reading pretty quickly. It looked like you were making some good points, but I just had to quit reading it.
BUSINESS DONT WANT TO PAY FOR INTELECTUAL PROPERTY. THEY WANT DUMMY'S WHO BECOME THEIRS TO WORK AS FINANCIAL SLAVES. AMERICAN KIDS COMPETE WITH FENCE HOPPERS WHO CANT READ OR WRITE IN THEIR NATIVE SPEAK.
KIDS WORK FOR THEIR EDUCATION, AMERICANS HAVE MANDATORY SCHOOL FOR AT LEAST 13 YRS (K-12), 15 YRS INCLUDING PRE SCHOOL 1 AND 2... TO COMPETE FOR 7 BUCKS AN HOUR WHILE TAX PAYERS PAY 11,000.00 PER YR PER STUDENT... IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THATS 15 X 11,000 OR 165,000.00 DIVIDED BY 7.00(NET MINIMUM WAGE) = 23571 HRS DIVIDED BY 40 HRS PER WEEK = 589 WEEKS DIVIDED BY 52 WKS = 11.3 YRS NOT COUNTING FEES & INTEREST.
11.3 YRS AFTER GRADUATION OF 15 YRS TRAINING... AGE AT GRADUATION IS NEVER 16YRS OLD, TEXAS SAYS THEY CAN MOVE OUT AT 17 LEGALLY! (17 + 11.3 YRS = ABOUT 29 YRS OLD) MIDDLE AGED POVERTY IS THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM IN CORPUS CHRISTI TEXAS! THEY SAY GO TO COLLEGE BY BORROWING FROM SALLY MAE.
NOW, IF YOU DO GO TO SALLY AND SIGN FOR YOUR KIDS... BE ADVISED THAT YOU WILL PAY EVERY PENNY PLUS INTEREST, THE GOV WON'T LET YOU OFF EVEN IN BANKRUPTCY. BUT THERE ARE MORE AND MORE SLAVES THAT ARE COLLEGE GRADS BECAUSE MANY BUSINESS'S HAVE TAKEN OVER THE GOP AND FIGHT AGAINST KIDS AND LABOR.
THEY CALL IT FREE ENTERPRISE CAPITALISM! CAPITALISM IS A ECONOMIC SYSTEM BY WHICH OWNERSHIP CLAIMS CAN BE MADE LEGALLY. NOTE! CORPORATIONS ARE LEGAL ENTITIES IN CAPITALIST SOCIETIES, THAT CAN BE GOOD OR BAD. LATELY AS CAPITALISM RUNS ITS COURSE IN AMERICA WE'VE LEARNED THAT MONOPOLY LAWS HAVE FAILED TO CONTROL THEM, THEY GET TOO BIG TO FAIL...
CORPORATE ENTITIES HAVE UNLIMITED LIVES, UNLIKE US HUMANS. GOOD OR EVIL TECHNOLOGY JUST HASN'T HELPED MUCH WITH THE STANDARDS OF LIVING. COMPUTERS, TV, PHONE EVEN RADIO W/SAT COM ALL ARE NOT FREE ANYMORE.
WHILE CORPORATIONS BUILD THEIR OWN POWER PLANTS, WATER AND WASTE TREATMENT, TRANSPORTATION, AND GET TO BE SELF INSURED WHILE HUMANES CAN'T.
MY POINT IS, BIG BUSINESS DON'T PAY FOR HARDLY ANYTHING AND AGAIN GET BIG TAX BREAKS MAKING HUMAN ENTITIES PAY THEIR WHOLE LIVES. TEA PARTY AND GOP PARTIES ARE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR ANTI LABOR LOBBIES. TO BIG TO FAIL IS TO BIG PERIOD, PLUS REGULATIONS DON'T REGULATE WORLD TRADE THEY REGULATE NATIONAL TRADES WHILE CORPORATE LOOPHOLES ARE GUARDED. THE RICH GET THEIR TAX BREAKS, LEAVE THE USA TO IMPOSE POWER ON THE 3RD WORLD WITH OUR KIDS JOBS & DEBT
EDUCATION OR NOT... CAPITALISM HAS TURNED US ALL INTO SLAVES. SMALL BUSINESS IS NOT SMALL! I WISH MINIMUM WAGES HAVE INCREASED JUST AS MUCH AS WHAT THEY CALL SMALL... 250,000.00 A YR? COME ON!!!
THE GOVERNMENT IS TOO LITTLE! NOT TOO BIG, BUT THE GOP AND TEA PARTY OPENLY WANT THE GOVERNMENT DOWNSIZED AND WEAKENED WHILE THEY SIT ON PILES OF CASH... ISN'T IT REALLY CLEAR YET? LONNIE MCVAIGH1-27-11
i own a small biz,cant afford to get my employees health care,taxed enough already!!!!wish i could,but dunbA##es bill will put most small biz out of biz,cant afford it.country runs of corps and small biz,everyone who works ,works for a corp r small biz ,without them we r screwd!!!!!!morons
Sorry guys! You lose here! LOL! 2 days ago, 62% of Americans, including small businesses want to KEEP the healtcare, but want to make changes to it! This group here must be some Bushnazi, GOP scam group! But wait! The Repubs use Foxtrash, only the biggest propaganda, fearmongering fools in America today! LOL! Too little, too late Repubs! LOL!
Just some idle thoughts about this issue. After reading the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPAC) I came to the conclusion that the only real winner is the insurance companies. Low income households would have up to 40% of their premiums subsidized by the government. On the other end of the scale is that for the so called platium policies, those that that annual premium is $27,000 per year, the insurance companies would have to pay 40% of the excess premium to the government. I guess it is just a coincidence that my insurance cost went up to that amount this year. One last comment that may cast some light on this health care issue. That is in most cases an individual will incur approximately 70% of their health cost in the final year of life. I am not an advocate of the death committee, but you would want to consider the quality of life during that final year. Do you really want to spend your last hours hooked up to IVs in the intensive care unit where you can park your dignity at the door.
So you never witnessed a business supporting its employees? I would venture to say that you have had the unfortunate luck to work for losers and in losing positions but the vast majority of businesses do support their workers and try to do what is best for them. There are tremendous employers out there who are being hamstrung by Obama Care and States that will go broke if they implement it. By the way with all of your railing against "greedy corporate business people," when was the last time you received a job from a poor person? Oh, and your prior post with all capital letters.....act like an adult.
Yeah, I got something to say... Tell, me sir why should any really laboring American should even care what a Business thinks? In my life time, I've never witnessed a business of any size actually support it's laborers...
Rather than the asset Labor represents, the economy only reflects American Labor as a cost along with their health!
GREEDY CORPORATE BUSINESS PEOPLE: Will leave America behind with it's Labor Force to devaluate the entire world if we don't start making them accountable to Humanity and their Children worldwide.
Yes, it's that bad brothers and sisters!
We will never get to the finish line with this issue. Do you know why? Everybody wants to make big $ in all occupations but nobody wants to pay for it. Healthcare is no exception! Healthcare costs way too much because insurance will pay for it and no insurance? No healthcare/sorry/bye bye! We(The world) have created this big mess that we are in with dishonesty and greed but you won't find 2 out of 100 people flying by you and cutting you off on the way home from work everyday that think it has anything to do with them personally. We also have a growing accountability problem. Most people are incapable of doing a personal moral inventory of themselves and admitting their faults. We are usually too busy pointing out the faults of others. If someone were to get behind the pulpit and start preaching to people what they really need to hear they would be booted off the stage because most people can't handle the truth. We want our lawmakers to create laws and reform on issues such as healthcare until it affects us personally. This is why we still have on the market things like porn, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, violent movies, violent video games etc; We have all these problems but none of these items could be the problem right? The same people that make the laws put their pants on the same way you and I do. Clinton proved that! Instead of examining ourselves and minding our own business, we pointed fingers at him. There lies the problem. It's human nature.
We the people are the problem!! We like sheep have gone astray, each to his or her own way. Most people run from sin hoping it will catch up to them! That's why there are so many church denominations in our world. Absolute truth exists but it is incoveniant for most humans.
Welcome to the world of sin!
Good luck with getting rid of ole reid! NV would have to do that, and for some unknown reason they think his all it!!! Before the last election I went to Vegas 3 times a year, after the election, I won't be going back anytime soon! I'm not willing to give away my money in a state that the best they can come up to represent them is reid!! Thank the casinos for this!