Small Business Owners Attend President's Speech on Small Business and Healthcare

Sausalito, CA, Oct. 28, 2009 Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer and two small business owners struggling with high healthcare costs will be available for comment following President Obama's speech on Thursday on the topics of small business, the economy and healthcare. Ken Weinstein, owner of Trolley Car Diner in Philadelphia, and Tammy Rostov, proprietor of Rostov's Coffee & Tea in Richmond, VA, were invited, along with Arensmeyer and approximately 100 other small business owners, to listen to the speech at the White House. Small businesses are being crushed under exorbitant healthcare costs, which is hampering their ability to grow and thrive, Arensmeyer said. We're glad to see that President Obama recognizes the role small businesses play in our economy, and that they need support as they traditionally lead the way out of recessions. Weinstein, who employs 50 permanent employees, can only afford health insurance for three managers because of the cost. And even then, his monthly bill comes to $3,500. Rostov's rates have increased 80 percent over the last four years, despite changing to a high-deductible plan that doesn't offer her full-time employees the same quality of care and is more costly than previous plans. Offering health insurance to her employees is a moral obligation and something she's not willing to forego. However, she can't continue to absorb double-digit increases and keep her doors open, let alone turn a profit. Small businesses need healthcare reform and we need it now, Rostov said. We need more choices, bargaining power with the insurance companies, more transparency so we know what we're getting and accountability so we know we can count on the coverage we're paying for. The president knows we need help and I'm interested to hear first-hand what his solutions are.