Introduction

Relief from crushing premium increases.

Across the country, America’s businesses are struggling as the cost of health care continues to skyrocket.  Premiums for employer-based health insurance have more than doubled since 2000, a growth rate three times that of wages.¹  By 2025, one in every four dollars in our nation’s economy will be spent on health care² – money that could have been invested in our nation’s businesses.  Rising health care costs cut into employee wages and impede hiring and business growth.

Small businesses, the backbone of job creation in our economy, are disproportionately burdened by the financial strains caused by rising health care costs.³  On average, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large firms for the same health insurance policy. ⁴  This difference is due in part to high broker fees (which can be up to 10 percent of premiums),⁵ and health plan administrative costs that are three to four times those in the large group market.⁶  These higher costs discourage small businesses from covering their employees.  In a recent national survey, nearly three-quarters of small businesses that did not offer benefits cited high premiums as the reason.⁷