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Small Business for Affordable Healthcare is a project of Small Business Majority |
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| See SBM's 2006 survey on small business healthcare needs |
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| Comprehensive Healthcare Reform for California's Small Businesses: Now More Than Ever |
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| The lack of affordable healthcare is the single biggest problem faced by California's 3.2 million small business owners and their employees (representing over 50% of the private sector workforce). |
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|  | Over 3 million small business employees in California are uninsured, including almost 600,000 sole proprietors. |
| | Health insurance premiums in the California small group market rose more than 50% between 2003 and 2006 -- 125% since 1999. |
| | According to a recent survey of California small business owners, 75% rank the availability of affordable health care as either very or extremely important. |
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| Our growing healthcare crisis severely impedes California’s economic progress and hampers the pursuit of the American Dream by its citizens. The success or failure of a business venture should depend upon innovation, product quality and hard work - not the cost of providing, or not providing, health insurance. As noted recently by a Harvard economist: "If Bill Gates had to worry about health insurance, would he have started Microsoft? Who knows?" |
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| Comprehensive healthcare reform is long overdue. The status quo is unacceptable. We must enact legislation in California based upon the following principles: |
| (1) | Coverage for all, |
| (2) | Cost reduction, |
| (3) | Affordability for employers and individuals, |
| (4) | Non-discrimination based on health risk or type/size of business, and |
| (5) | Shared, equitable responsibility by all stakeholders, including businesses, government, individuals and the healthcare industry. |
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California is once again in a position to lead the nation as a beacon of opportunity. There are a number of significant healthcare reform proposals being debated in Sacramento right now. All of them represent serious attempts to address the problem and find a solution that incorporates the principles that are essential to comprehensive reform. We urge the Legislature and the Governor to come together to pass and sign legislation that ensures comprehensive, affordable, quality health care for all Californians.
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