New Report Gives California Small Business Owners' Perspective on Healthcare Reform

Sausalito, CA, Feb. 1, 2011: California small businesses have not had a chance to understand the details of the new federal healthcare law or how it will affect their bottom line, but once they learn about its key provisions they like what they hear and want to know more, according to a California Listening Tour report released today by Small Business Majority.

Small Business Majority, a Sausalito-based, national small business advocacy organization, working in partnership with chambers of commerce and other business organizations across the state, conducted the tour from May 2010 to January 2011 in nine cities. The events, which were moderated by the independent nonpartisan New America Foundation, educated California small business owners about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and sought their input on how best to move forward with implementation.

We found that there's a real hunger for information on this issue from California small businesses, said Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer. A substantial amount of misinformation is still being circulated on healthcare reform, and many small business owners have no idea how this law will affect them or that there are real benefits for them starting immediately.

Each event consisted of two parts, the first half a panel discussion on the healthcare law and the second half a question and comment period. A representative of the Governor's office participated at most of the events to explain the state's role in the implementation process. While small business owners in each city had varying opinions and knowledge about the law, several perspectives were consistent throughout:

• Small business owners overwhelmingly agreed that healthcare costs are growing too fast and we desperately need to reform the current system;
• Small business owners want to provide health insurance to their workers. They see it as a great recruiting and retention tool but believe something has to be done to increase affordability and accessibility while decreasing the administrative burden;
• Small business owners have very little, if any, knowledge of the ACA. They know about some of the issues that grabbed headlines while the legislation was making its way through Congress, but little understanding of specific provisions that directly affect them;
• After learning more about the new law from the panel discussion, small businesses were eager to learn more about several key provisions, including: small business tax credits, which are already available to nearly 80 percent of California small businesses this year; health insurance exchanges that allow small businesses to pool together to negotiate more favorable pricing for coverage; cost containment provisions; the 1099 reporting requirement; and grandfathering provisions.
• Small business owners showed an interest in working with policymakers on implementing the ACA. Many attendees offered ideas on how to strengthen the law and were eager to have their ideas shared with state and federal officials.

I own a homecare business, and since we have a lot of part-time employees I wanted to get more information about the healthcare law's impact on my business, said Dorothy Dougherty, owner of Comfort Keepers in Burbank. The speakers were there to inform us and answer questions, something of value to small employers.

Listening Tour events were held in: Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Pleasanton, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clarita, Santa Cruz, and Stockton. To view the full report visit our website or go to:

http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/state-activity/california-state-activity.php.