Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Mini-Biz Health-Care Wishes and Woes, Pt.3 – Costs, costs, costs!

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How significant are these costs? The study found these microbusinesses facing health insurance costs that ranged from $1,000 to $60,000 annually. The expense of the average employer was $5,520 per year. Further, there was also a significant rise in the percent of each company’s total revenues being spent on health insurance. in 2005, the average microbusiness was spending 3.7% of that total on health insurance. By 2008, that percentage rose to 5.5%. That’s a 149% increase in health insurance expenditures. As a rule, it was found, that the smaller the business, the greatest percent of expenditure. Those businesses with less than 6 employees almost always paid a higher percentage of total revenues on health insurance, then those with 6 or more showing higher revenues. With health insurance costs ever-rising, it was found that over 75% of these businesses experienced hikes over the last year. Although the average annual hike was higher in the 2005 survey at 20.7%, the hike this year was still a significant 14.7%.

These small businesses are very conscientious about our nation’s health insurance/care system, especially due to the impossible constraints they’re being faced with. There is much consensus among them, based on sound judgment. The largest agreement is on the belief that “all U.S. citizens should have health coverage,” as Kristie Darien puts it. There is an 84.8% of agreement on this. This agreement is not without qualification, however. 79.7% of this same group also believe that all those who receive this health insurance should pay something for it, somehow.

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