New Small Business Survey Shows Strong Demand For Competitive Health Insurance Exchanges Offering Multiple Options To Employees In Oregon

PORTLAND, OR- States across the country are working to develop Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchanges, online marketplaces where small businesses can purchase health insurance. An opinion survey released today provides important new insights into what small businesses in Oregon are looking for from the state exchanges being created under the Affordable Care Act. Topping the list are employee choice for insurance carriers and greater disease prevention and wellness programs. The survey also found interest in the SHOP exchange is high, and awareness among owners of small business tax credits is low.

Small employers and their employees want the same options and benefits that large companies already enjoy, said John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority. Small business owners are eagerly awaiting 2014, when the exchanges will be up and running. These marketplaces will give them more choice of plans and make it easier and more affordable for them to offer their employees insurance.

The survey, conducted between April 18 and May 6 by the Field Research Corporation on behalf of Small Business Majority and Kaiser Permanente, found that the availability of SHOP exchanges in 2014 could spur more small business owners to provide health benefits to employees. In Oregon, just one in four (26 percent) small employers currently offer health benefits to all of their employees and another 8 percent provide it to some employees. But, when small business owners are told that Oregon's exchange opens in 2014 and it will allow them to shop for health insurance among competing companies either online or via a broker, the proportion of those who are likely to offer health coverage to their employees jumps to 42 percent.

The fact that these exchanges are enticing to small business owners demonstrates the importance of getting them up and running and making sure they offer the features small businesses are looking for, said Joe Smith, Vice President for Small Business, Kaiser Permanente.

Choice of insurance carriers is important, too. Sixty-three percent of small business owners planning to offer benefits in 2014 want employees to be able to choose between multiple insurance carriers.

Along with choices, small businesses are looking for SHOP exchanges to help reduce the administrative burden of providing health insurance. Specifically, they are looking to the SHOP to handle enrollment and provide small business owners with a single, consolidated bill, regardless of the different number of insurance carriers employees select.

State leaders can protect small businesses and the millions they employ by ensuring that SHOP exchanges offer real choices among carriers and that no small business owner is forced to spend more time working on health insurance paperwork than running their business, Arensmeyer said.

Small business owners also want to offer their employees plans that feature prevention and wellness programs. Among all small employers polled, 54 percent in Oregon said offering a plan with prevention and wellness programs were attractive to them. For those small businesses owners that expect to offer health benefits in 2014, they are even more likely to feel this way (63 percent).

SHOP exchanges have the opportunity to deliver on the nationwide trend to give employees the resources and tools to stay healthy, said Smith. The survey findings also shed some light on recent reports that many small businesses have yet to claim the health benefit tax credit. Fifty-five percent of the small businesses surveyed were not even aware of the tax credits available to them for providing health benefits through the new health reform law. Upon learning about the availability of the tax credit, 61 percent indicated they would be more likely to go to the exchanges in 2014.

We're facing the largest increases we've ever had in our years of providing health insurance, said Mike Roach, co-owner of Paloma Clothing in Portland, Ore. But we feel very fortunate to have received a federal tax credit of $5,500 for providing 6 employees with insurance, to help defray ever-rising costs. And we can't wait to see what's in store for us when Oregon's health exchange opens next year, ahead of the federal deadline. These new online marketplaces will allow us to combine our purchasing power with other small businesses to drive down costs. The reality is, we need the exchanges implemented if we want our small businesses and our economy to thrive."

Tax credits provide a valuable incentive for small business owners trying to offer health benefits. The next logical step is to make sure small businesses across the country are aware of these tax credits. This will help ensure a vibrant SHOP exchange, Arensmeyer said.