Small Business News

“Any increase is challenging for small businesses because most small firms are already operating on thin margins,” John Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive of Small Business Majority, a business advocacy organization, wrote in an email…Amid rising health-care costs, some small businesses have had to pare back. Small Business Majority’s research has found that small businesses are making some changes that include increased employee contributions to their health plans, moving to an insurance plan offering more limited coverage and cutting other employee benefits.

At the independent bookstore Booksmith in San Francisco’s storied Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, owner Christin Evans said four of her employees qualify for health benefits. She said she covers the full cost of her workers’ Kaiser Permanente care — one of her “top expenses” of doing business. Her costs are rising, she said, by about 17% — to $3,250 per worker each month in 2026 from $2,776 in 2025. Last year, premiums rose 7.5%, she said.

I can afford to be a small business owner because of the Affordable Care Act. Health care costs are one of the most difficult burdens of being self-employed, but the enhanced premium tax credit keeps my monthly premium manageable. That’s why I’m worried about its expiration at the end of 2025 due to Congress’ inaction.

As the year comes to a close, I often reach out to John Arensmeyer, who is founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, to get his take on the state of small businesses in America. The picture John paints this year, based on his own observations as well as a recent survey, is not pretty. He points to a host of issues -- health insurance, tariffs, immigration, cuts to federal programs -- every one of which can represent an existential threat to a business.