As the end of the year draws closer, many Californians want to know what is going on with health care. The fact is that it's staggering how many people are uninsured.
In California, 6.6 million people, or 19 percent of the population (the highest of any state), are uninsured. Did you know that small businesses provide more than half of America's private sector jobs, yet many of them can't afford to offer health benefits to employees? Because health is important to all of us, small businesses that cannot afford to offer health benefits cannot attract the talent they need to compete and grow.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a goal of increasing access to affordable health care coverage for Californians. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce agrees with him on this issue. However, we disagree with the governor calling a special legislative session to try to hammer out a palatable universal health care bill.
According to our Public Policy Guide, (a newly updated version is available at www.carlsbad.org/docs/ppg.pdf) the chamber is “opposed to any mandates upon employer provided, or forced employee health care coverage,” and is “opposed to governmental partial payments for services rendered through its own managed health programs.” In other words, we are opposed to universal health care.
According to a 2003 UCLA Center for Health Policy Research study, 67.8 percent of the adult employees who were uninsured worked for employers who offered no health benefits. Another 17.8 percent had employers who offered coverage for which they were not eligible.
Often, small businesses are not well informed about the insurance options available to them because, unlike large employers, small business owners, who usually make decisions about insurance for their firms, typically have little time or expertise to bring to the task. Even when small businesses have the expertise, their health insurance premiums are likely to be significantly higher than what large businesses would pay for comparable coverage.
To that end, our idea for overcoming these disadvantages is small business health care plans, commonly referred to as SBHP. Through these plans, small businesses can join together to collectively purchase health coverage and should be able to strike a better deal than they would by acting separately.
Acting jointly, they would be able realize the advantages that large businesses enjoy because of their size and bargaining power. By growing their purchasing power, small businesses would be able to buy coverage at lower cost. Employers who could not previously afford to offer health coverage would be able to, thus reducing the numbers of uninsured.
Allowing bona-fide business organizations, like the chamber, California Restaurant Association and Carlsbad Village Business Association, to offer uniform fully-insured health insurance plans to their members, provides smaller businesses, which make up more than 85 percent of businesses nationwide, a better opportunity to afford health care insurance for their employees.
SBHPs would not give mom and pop businesses an advantage; the plans would simply give small and large businesses a level playing field. The plans would allow small businesses to provide more affordable health insurance to their employees and their families. Small businesses would be able to bargain with providers, which they currently cannot do. We at the chamber believe affordable health care coverage should be available for all businesses, regardless of size.
In California, 6.6 million people, or 19 percent of the population (the highest of any state), are uninsured. Did you know that small businesses provide more than half of America's private sector jobs, yet many of them can't afford to offer health benefits to employees? Because health is important to all of us, small businesses that cannot afford to offer health benefits cannot attract the talent they need to compete and grow.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a goal of increasing access to affordable health care coverage for Californians. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce agrees with him on this issue. However, we disagree with the governor calling a special legislative session to try to hammer out a palatable universal health care bill.
According to our Public Policy Guide, (a newly updated version is available at www.carlsbad.org/docs/ppg.pdf) the chamber is “opposed to any mandates upon employer provided, or forced employee health care coverage,” and is “opposed to governmental partial payments for services rendered through its own managed health programs.” In other words, we are opposed to universal health care.
According to a 2003 UCLA Center for Health Policy Research study, 67.8 percent of the adult employees who were uninsured worked for employers who offered no health benefits. Another 17.8 percent had employers who offered coverage for which they were not eligible.
Often, small businesses are not well informed about the insurance options available to them because, unlike large employers, small business owners, who usually make decisions about insurance for their firms, typically have little time or expertise to bring to the task. Even when small businesses have the expertise, their health insurance premiums are likely to be significantly higher than what large businesses would pay for comparable coverage.
To that end, our idea for overcoming these disadvantages is small business health care plans, commonly referred to as SBHP. Through these plans, small businesses can join together to collectively purchase health coverage and should be able to strike a better deal than they would by acting separately.
Acting jointly, they would be able realize the advantages that large businesses enjoy because of their size and bargaining power. By growing their purchasing power, small businesses would be able to buy coverage at lower cost. Employers who could not previously afford to offer health coverage would be able to, thus reducing the numbers of uninsured.
Allowing bona-fide business organizations, like the chamber, California Restaurant Association and Carlsbad Village Business Association, to offer uniform fully-insured health insurance plans to their members, provides smaller businesses, which make up more than 85 percent of businesses nationwide, a better opportunity to afford health care insurance for their employees.
SBHPs would not give mom and pop businesses an advantage; the plans would simply give small and large businesses a level playing field. The plans would allow small businesses to provide more affordable health insurance to their employees and their families. Small businesses would be able to bargain with providers, which they currently cannot do. We at the chamber believe affordable health care coverage should be available for all businesses, regardless of size.