Alaska small business owners eager for healthcare reform

For Immediate Release: 
Thursday, August 6, 2009

Research Shows Small Business Owners Willing to be Part of a Solution that Makes High-quality Healthcare Affordable and Available to All

Anchorage, AK, August 6, 2009: Recent research shows the majority of Alaska small business owners believe healthcare reform is necessary, and are willing to be part of a solution that controls costs and guarantees coverage for everyone.

A state-wide survey of small business owners and commercial fishermen conducted by Small Business Majority, a leading national, nonpartisan small business advocacy organization focused on healthcare reform, found that affordability is the primary obstacle for small business owners in obtaining health insurance. Ninety-two percent of small businesses not offering health insurance say they can't afford to, while 79 percent of those who do are struggling to provide it. Both small business owners and commercial fishermen also see the cost of health insurance as a significant barrier to entrepreneurship and say reform is important in helping the economy recover.

Small business owners aren't shirking their responsibility where healthcare is concerned, said John Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive officer of Small Business Majority. They feel a responsibility to provide healthcare for their employees and are wiling to do their part in fixing our broken system.

The report found that 72 percent of small business people and 64 percent of commercial fishermen believe that individuals, employers, insurers, the government and healthcare providers should share the responsibility for making coverage more affordable. Seventy-five percent of fishermen and 70 percent of small business owners also support having the option of a private or public health insurance plan as part of healthcare reform.

Many Alaska fishing families live in rural areas, and their choices for health insurance are very limited, said Mark Vinsel, executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska. For many of these fishermen, the cost of insurance is just too high so the only choice they have is to remain uninsured. And that is no choice at all.

Additional findings in the report include:

  • 87% of small businesses and 81% of commercial fishermen support establishing a health insurance pool to create a marketplace where small businesses and individuals choose their coverage.
  • 66% of fishermen and 59% of small business owners say healthcare reform is important to getting the economy back on track.
  • 47% of small business owners believe their company has a responsibility to provide health coverage for its employees.
  • 84% of commercial fishermen and 82% of small business owners want to eliminate rules that allow insurers to consider preexisting conditions when deciding whether to issue a policy

Small Business Majority conducts extensive scientific polling and research to determine small business owners perspectives on healthcare reform and brings a nonpartisan voice to policy discussions nationwide. Based in Sausalito, CA with offices in Washington, DC and New York City, the organization works with small business owners, healthcare policy experts and elected officials nationwide