Trenton, NJ, July 21, 2009— New Jersey small business owners are being crushed by rising health care costs, and feel left out of the current health care debate in Washington, according to a new report released by New Jersey Public Interest Research Group today.
“In this economy,” said New Jersey Public Interest Research Group’s Health care advocate, Jacob Koetsier, “health care costs are killing small business owners like Iona. But instead of leading on this important issue, the national Chamber of Commerce and other inside-the-beltway groups are playing politics with a crucial issue and actively impeding reform efforts.”
Over 300 small business owners and managers around the country to took part in a snapshot survey of small businesses by U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. The result, The Small Business Dilemma, finds that the costs and administrative hassles associated with offering insurance weigh particularly heavily on small businesses.
According to the 14-page report:
• Small businesses value health insurance as a key to business success because it allows them to attract better employees.
• 78% of small business owners surveyed who do not offer coverage would like to do so but face high affordability barriers
The health reforms being proposed in Congress will “rein in health costs for small businesses and save jobs,” Koetsier concluded.
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NJPIRG, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information visit www.njpirg.org.
