|
|
|
|
|
 |
By John Arensmeyer
Founder and CEO of Small Business Majority
California’s small business owners, who employ over 50% of the private sector workforce, are fed up with our health care crisis; they want bold action now, and they are more than ready to be part of the solution. Other business groups, who focus their energies on opposing all meaningful health care reform, do not speak for the millions of California’s entrepreneurs who know that the inability to obtain affordable health care for their families and their employees severely impedes California’s economic progress and hampers their pursuit of the American Dream.
As many of you may know, the California Legislature is currently in a special session. As we speak, the Governor and the legislative leaders are negotiating a compromise between their reform proposals.
For the first time ever California’s small business organizations have endorsed significant health care reform proposals. The grassroots organization of small business owners that we launched, Small Business for Affordable Healthcare, has endorsed bold reform based on a combination of the leading reform proposals pending in Sacramento. Small Business California was an early endorser of the Governor’s proposal for comprehensive reform. And, this month, the San Francisco and Los Angeles Chambers of Commerce have endorsed the Governor’s proposal, while the California Restaurant Association, the California Retail Association, and the California Small Business Association, have all expressed support for a 1 percent sales tax to pay for expanded health care coverage. We are very pleased that all of these groups are finally expressing the very real needs and desires of their members.
Based upon a groundbreaking, scientific survey that we conducted in August, small businesses across California overwhelmingly support comprehensive health care reform, with substantial support for two of the leading reform proposals pending in Sacramento.
Key findings from the survey are:
• 80% of those who expressed an opinion felt that employers should pay something to provide health care to their employees — four times as many as those who felt that employers should not have to contribute anything (20%).
• 75% ranked the availability of affordable health care as extremely or very important.
• 57% see health care financing as a shared responsibility among individuals, employers and government – three times as many as do not (19%).
• 55% were in favor of paying into a statewide pool that would enable their employees to obtain coverage at favorable rates – over three times greater than those opposed (17%).
66% of the survey respondents were at least reasonably aware of the current health care debate in Sacramento. A substantial plurality (near-majority) said that they favored both the legislation ( AB 8 ) proposed by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata as well as the proposal made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A small plurality said that they favored the single-payer plan (SB 840) authored by Senator Sheila Kuehl.
• Governor’s proposal — 47% in favor; 31% opposed
• AB 8 — 47% in favor; 33% opposed
• SB 840 — 42% in favor; 40% opposed
The scientific telephone and on-line poll of 506 randomly-selected small business owners and managers was conducted between August 2-15, 2007, by Core Strategies, an internationally-respected market research firm. The Survey has a 95% confidence interval and a 4% margin of error.
"I am struck by how small business leaders are very committed to helping solve the health care crisis, and how they really want to do the right thing," said Marshall Toplansky, Chairman and CEO of Core Strategies. "We do a lot of work analyzing the needs and motivations of small business owners, so we know that entrepreneurs are very proactive by nature. The results of this survey demonstrate that small business owners respond to a crisis in a very pragmatic and thoughtful way, as opposed to the reflexive, ideological manner that is often attributed to them."
This survey is believed to be the only comprehensive survey of small business health care attitudes that has polled a random sample of small businesses across the state. Unlike most other small business surveys that look only at self-selected membership rolls, we felt that it was important to assess the attitudes of all entrepreneurs, regardless of their political views. The political affiliations of the survey respondents who chose to state them cut across party lines: Democrat-38%; Republican-30%; Independent-29%; Other-3%
Other responses show widespread support for most of the other pending California health care reform proposals:
• 75% favored requiring health insurers to spend at least 85% of their premiums on care — vs. 8% opposed.
• 70% favored offering health insurance regardless of health status – vs. 9% opposed.
• 67% favored requiring insurers to offer coverage to small businesses regardless of the workforce’s health status – vs. 10% opposed.
• 63% favored a requirement that employers offer Section 125 plans – vs. 11% opposed.
• 62% favored requiring insurers and HMO’s to get state approval prior to raising premiums – vs. 15% opposed.
• 58% favored expanding current public health programs – vs. 15% opposed.
• 56% favored setting a timeline for hospitals and doctors having electronic medical records – vs. 10% opposed.
• 37% favored raising Medi-Cal rates for doctors and hospitals – vs. 22% opposed. [Note: very high neutral/don’t know: 41%]
Other key Survey findings:
• 74% agreed that health insurers and prescription drug companies are making health care unaffordable because of their power to dictate prices – vs. 11% who disagreed
• 58% felt that more people would start businesses if they knew they could get affordable health insurance without regard to pre-existing conditions – almost three times those who disagreed (21%).
• 46% were in favor of a one percent sales tax to make health care more affordable – vs. 35% who were opposed.
• 43% agreed that it is unfair for businesses that provide coverage to compete against those who do not, and that a minimum employer contribution would level the playing field, vs. 25% who disagreed.
• 32% favored mandating that individuals purchase health insurance – vs. 39% opposed.
• 22% believed that health insurance should be the sole responsibility of individuals, not employers or government – vs. 2.5 times as many who disagreed (55%).
The full Survey report, along with other back-up documents, is available at www.smallbusinessforhealthcare.org.
——
John Arensmeyer is the founder and CEO of the Small Business Majority, based in Sausalito, California. Small Business Majority is a national non-profit organization of business entrepreneurs working to ensure prosperity in the 21st Century economy by building a politically aware and active community of small business leaders.
Note: Articles are posted for the purpose of generating ideas and honest debate on how San Francisco can live up to its full promise and potential. Posting of an article does not imply an endorsement by the author of Gavin Newsom for Mayor, nor an endorsement by Gavin Newsom for Mayor of the positions set forth in the article.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
