Fixed For America Shared Stories

Mandates would force us out of business

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:34:52 GMT

We have been in business since 1891, with the 4th generation in the business and have provided health care and life insurance for all of our employee to the best of our ability that we could afford. We still provide this benefit, but have had to increase our deductible to maintain their coverage. If the federal government mandates coverage beyond what we can afford we would probably go out of business as a small manufacture. This mandated issue should not even be consider must less pass.

Mandates will stifle growth

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:08:17 GMT

A year ago I started providing medical insurance for my employees, so a mandate wouldn't affect me now. It took my business 9 years to get to the point that I could afford to do this without putting us out of business . If a mandate was in place requiring me to pay health care insurance for my employees at the time I started my business, I would have went under. Then there would have been several more people without a job, let alone health insurance. Mandates like this one will stifle the growth and survival of small business.

55% premium increase threatens future of specialized business in Wisconsin

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:42:22 GMT

Our company is an architectural stained glass creator and conservator with a company history of over 100 years. We just received our annual group health insurance renewal notice from UnitedHealthcare for June 1st 2009. Our group is of fewer than ten employees and their family members. We have just received an annual rate increase of 21% for 2009-2010 and suffered a 34% increase for our 2007-2008 policy! 55% in two years, this news is devastating; I am literally sickened and overwhelmed by the decisions that need to be made. In a year in which we know we will suffer a loss we cannot afford $10,000 + increase of our health insurance. Our staff had been laid off intermittently to preserve cash; they cannot afford to pay more for health care either. I have been the administrator of our group health insurance plan for the past ten years and each year in order to continue this benefit; we face reducing the quality of coverage to our employees. Our company and employees are paying more and getting less with every year’s renewal. In the process of underwriting of claims we may be unable to move to another carrier, or joining a purchasing pool without facing denial of coverage, non-coverage of pre-existing conditions and higher rates yet. This is an extremely scary situation for our business and other small companies that are caught in the same web of being singled out unfairly. Oakbrook Esser Studios has provided group health insurance to our employees for over twenty-five years and we still pay 100% of the premium for single employees and those with families! Our staff is highly specialized skilled; long-term employees. It takes several years to develop a team of artisans who work for a studio for the love of the craft. Many of them make fewer than thirty thousand dollars a year. Health insurance coverage is the single most important benefit to them and their families The healthcare problem could force us to discontinue our group health insurance. Our long-term employees may seek other employment, potentially putting our historic company out of business. Of the few stained glass studios, most are smaller businesses facing the health insurance dilemma; threatening the future of preserving and continuing the ancient art form of stained glass industry.

New penalties could cost my business nearly half our profits

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:30:38 GMT

My family owns a small business in Augusta, Ga... its a natural food store with organic cafe and juice bar.. if you count part-time workers we employ about 20 people... our yearly net profits are about 30K, if we have to pay $750 per employee for health care (according to news report heard today), that would cost about $14 K or 1/2 of our profits... we would have to go out of business adding to the current recession's umemployments. Any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.. Tom Buxton

Mandate would force me to layoff employees

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:21:52 GMT

we have a family ran and family frendly pizza business. we employee approx 40 to 50 a year now full and part-time. our family members also work daily to keep it going. In the event we are forced to provide insurance to our employees or ourselves through a premium or a tax. We will be forced out of business and put on unemployment. It is that simple! we are making every effort to compete with the large corperations, pay out taxes and meet all the other regulations that appear daily! why should we try to keep the doors open when our own Goverment is clearly against us? Why would things be better with most small business going out because of this? These time are really bad now so any small blow will be costly! Why dosen't the Govermant try to help and encourage small businesses? They say they are all in support of small business.......BULL! ....these guys are killing us! Mark my words we will close and our sale are close to one million a year? I guess they don't want the sales tax, or other taxes we pay..any more! Also we will put more on the unemployment lines because of this. Our friends who have samll business are saying the samething...

Insurance industry deems man's wife "high-risk," family cannot afford high premiums and deductible

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:10:04 GMT

My wife has an inherited kidney disease, which she has no health problems with. Nonetheless, insurance compnies have pegged her as a high risk person. The only insurance that we are able to get is the mandated policy required by the state. The premium is so high that the only insurance I can afford for myself, has a high deductible. What upsets my wife and me is that people who smoke, drink or do other harmful things to their bodies get very affordable insurance, while we, pay high premiums and deductibles. As a result, I don't go to doctors for my own problems.

-Frank, L., Wendell, ID

Business owner can only afford to pay for half of employees' insurance coverage

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:41:02 GMT

We used to pay for health insurance but now we can only afford to pay for 50 percent and as a result, some employees opted not to carry insurance at all. We couldn't afford group insurance so those that have insurance coverage, have individual policies. In my case, I had to go to a $5,000 deductable for individuals, $10,000 deductible for family coverage, in order to keep it affordable. It's a gamble, hoping nothing serious happens.

-Robert R., Appleton, WI

Group policies don't help, when you're a small business

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:43:01 GMT

As the owner of a small business with less than 20 full-time employees, I can say the premiums for quality healthcare are outrageous and a strain to afford each month.

In order to obtain and keep quality employees, we pay 100% of single coverage. Yet, with premiums increasing annually, we are finding this harder and harder to do. We also recently found out that when we, or any of our employees covered under our policy become 65, they will be forced to drop their group coverage and become dependent on Medicare. This is due to the fact that our group policy covers less than 20 employees. As a small group, we already pay the highest premiums. This is another example of the disadvantage of being a small business in America.

-Lorrie D., Montgomery, AL

Owning your own business is tough when you cannot afford healthcare

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:44:18 GMT

My husband Tom and I own a packaging and shipping store in Dayton, OH. We have had to purchase health insurance for eight years now. We have tried several types of policies but because of Tom's diabetes, we needed a full coverage policy.

I am 56 and Tom is 60. We pay $1,915 per month for the policy and another $530 per month into the HSA plan. Once Tom's medical expenses come to $2,500, which we pay out of the HSA, then the insurance covers everything. Usually, by April 1st he has reached the deductible. Now think what would happen if we didn't have the coverage. Between the insurance company and the doctors and pharmacy's, the cost to us would be 3-4 times what the agreed upon cost. We have to have the coverage and because of his condition no one else will insure us. Yet, our reserves keep dwindling and I am not sure how much longer we will be able to afford this coverage. What upsets me is that I am paying for health care for large portion of the population (i.e. teachers, firefighters, congressmen etc.) yet, it is coming to the point where I cannot afford it for myself.

Funny thing is that most people think that if you own your own business you are well off but this is not so. Most of us are struggling to keep our heads above water.

-Kris B., Centerville, OH

Self-employment leaves a couple struggling to survive

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:45:53 GMT

A year ago my husband and I started our own business. We started the new business because my husband is disabled and this would let him work at his own leisure. We hoped that in the long-run it would help support us when we retired. Yet, during this time, I suffered from a detached retina and had to have an emergency surgery to save my eye. The doctor performed the surgery by the grace of God alone. Because I was uninsured, the hospital gave me a 30 percent discount on the procedure. Nonetheless, they still left us with a $15,000 bill to pay.

The months I spent recovering left us strapped to the hilt, causing our small business to suffer financially.

Because we were self-employed we had no benefits at all. We were three months behind in paying everything and could not qualify for any help because we had no history of financial need. As a result, we lost our home and ended up living in the basement of the store in to save the business.

It took months to regain some financial stability and to this day we work from 5 am until late in the evening, 7 days a week, to make ends meet. We struggle everyday to come up with the $400 needed to pay for husbands life time prescriptions and are still uninsured and in need of having affordable insurance, so this does not happen again.

It was only by sheer luck that I found a good job outside our business to help us survive. Daily we pray we will have enough to pay the bills this month and hope even more that neither of us gets sick. With one of our children still living at home, this is very difficult.

If a hospital can automatically give me a 30% discount on a procedure for being uninsured, there is no reason why we can’t solve the medical cost issue at the same rate. There has to be a solution, whether it is group buying power or united health care options. Every time a small business owner or any other uninsured person is ill and can't pay their bills it will continue to compound costs for everyone else.

Without NFIB fighting for us who would?

-Pasquarelli, Winchester, NH

Small business owner cannot afford insurance for herself, let alone employees

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:47:06 GMT

I wish I could offer health insurance to my employees but the cost is too high for quality health insurance. As it is, I have a hard time affording insurance for myself.

-Christina H., Garfield Heights, OH

Five employees cost a business $46,000 in health insurance a year

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:49:59 GMT

We have five people working for us. This makes up two single coverage plans, three families, two of which, have children, and one which doesn’t. It costs our company a total of $46,000 per year to insure our five employees. At this rate, we cannot stay in business for long.

-Herbert R., Solon, OH

Business owner struggles with high insurance prices

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:35:31 GMT

Our business doesn't have a problem getting insurance but the price we have to pay for that insurance keeps going up every year at a pace that we cannot continue to pass on to our customers. Therefore, we are left taking home less money in a time when the cost of everything is going up. I believe that the people who pay for their health care insurance also pay for those who don't have insurance and don't pay the hospital after receiving care. Once again the middle class is left to pick up the tab of those who don't/won't work and have no plans of paying for health care or anything else. We have made it too easy for people to live in this country and not contribute to society in any way. There is a way to fix the health care problem but I don't think any politicians are willing to take a stand and risk not getting re-elected.

Small business owners should not be penalized for being small with high insurance premiums

Thu, 29 May 2008 15:42:09 GMT

I have been offering health insurance to my employees since 1995. The cost of my small group is outrageous. I have husbands and wifes that work for me and it is cheaper for an individual policy instead of a family policy. I have 4 individuals, one Employee with child and one family plan. Our premium cost is $3,007.69 a month with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. This past year our premium went up 18%. I do not feel that it is fair to the small companies that do not have 100 plus employees to be penalized because we are small. I hate to hear when people complain about paying (what I consider small premiums) to have insurance and they work for big companies. Big companies are getting all the "breaks" and I feel they are sticking it to the small businesses. I dread the thought of hiring more employees because I am not sure if I can afford the premium for health insurance. My company pays half of the premium for each employee. We have chosen a POS ( a type of HMO) and our deductibles have had to go up just to afford the premium. Our copays are $40 per visit. My employees are complaining because everything has gone up and up and is becoming unaffordable. What are we to do? We cannot go without insurance in this day and age. Healthcare is just too expensive not to have insurance so they have you either way.

Paying for Employees’ Healthcare Out of Pocket Puts Business and Family at Risk

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:09:48 GMT

I’m the CEO of Woodhaven Physical Therapy. We have four offices in New York City and provide services ranging from physical therapy to acupuncture. Right now, I can’t afford to provide health insurance for my 20 employees. It is ironic that we provide services for other people to be healthy, and we can’t even afford coverage to ensure our own health. We lost our insurance coverage on May 1, 2008, and we haven’t been able to find any affordable options to replace it. Recently, I had an employee who needed medical attention, and I paid $200 out of my own pocket to cover the bill. I need to retain the best employees to maintain the quality of my business, so I promised I would cover the cost of their care until we are able to provide an affordable healthcare option. This also means I am not able to provide coverage for my wife and daughter. I’m always worried about my family and my employees. One trip to the emergency room, and I’ll have to pay thousands of dollars out of my own pocket, putting my business at risk of closing. The healthcare situation is only getting worse. We need insurance companies and the government to come together to create solutions that work for small businesses.