By Chad Terhune, Los Angeles Times –
A new study finds that 49 percent of U.S. workers in small businesses were offered health insurance in 2010, down from 58 percent in 2003.
Firms with 100 or more employees were far more likely to provide health benefits, at 90 percent in both 2003 and 2010, according to the report from the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that does health care research.
Low-wage workers in small businesses were the least likely to be offered coverage: One-third of workers making less than $15 an hour in small firms were able to enroll in their employer’s health plan.
Other findings included that 45 percent of small-business workers reported difficulty paying medical bills in 2010, and 46 percent said they skipped needed medical care because they couldn’t afford it.
The federal health care law seeks to address some of these problems by offering premium tax credits to certain small businesses and, starting in 2014, by granting subsidies to many uninsured workers toward their purchase of health insurance.
10 thoughts on “Fewer than half of small business employees offered health care in ’10”
The fact of the matter is, if Obama is re-elected, there will be half as many buinesses of any kind. One more term for him will be the end of this country as we once knew it. What a shame.
The paperwork associated with providing insurance is oppressive for businesses. It has gotten far worse since ACA was passed. I feel really sorry for the insurance companies trying to figure out how the heck to comply with all of this, gear up for it, and, hopefully, they will never have to implement the bulk of it. Insurance is so expensive that some employees cannot afford to even pay their 20% of the premium.
There is something to this article. My experience with small business is that in some cases they just can’t afford to supply health insurance and in some others they are just to greedy. Anyway you look at it it becomes a problem for the working people on how to get affordable health care. To buy their own policy is somewhat unreasonable for a lot of folks. How do you do that on miminmum wage/ The real problem I have on Obamacare is that they are stealing the money from other health care programs like medicare. Over a lot of years we have paid for medicare and still pay a premium for it and to have it STOLEN to pay for people that have never paid in is unexcusable. This is my big problem with Obama and the democrats. They are stealing from us.
LVS they are not stealing anything from medicare. this is more of the teabaggers propaganda. The facts just don’t back you up. But then why us facts. Let’s just spread more lies and untruths. Go back to your Faux News. The people that look at this with their eyes open know the truth.
@Happy Guy-you don’t know what you are talking about. I have letters from Welmark and confirmation from people who work in the health field. We already have doctors and hospitals in Iowa refusing to take more medicare patients. There are 15 hospitals in Iowa that are not taking anymore patients that are on medicare. It is just getting started. Most of the crap goes into effect in 2014. Please do not comment on issues you know nothing about. Go back to your never/never land with the rest of the dummy’s.
How in the world can you claim they “stole” money from medicare when the solvency of medicare increased by 8 years? Please tell me how someone manages to do that? I would really like to know how exactly medicare’s trust fund could manage to pay out 8 extra years of benefits if indeed money was “stolen” from it.
@John-where did you hear that. I have not heard it at all from any source. Liberals tend to make stuff up just to suit their wants and dreams. Every single thing I have read or heard says medicare has been defunded to pay for Obamacare. I can tell you that my son runs a small business with and they are looking at taking them all part time just because they can’t afford Obamacare and can not afford to pay the fines. What with all the regulations that have come in and the extra taxes the business is paying it is either that or go out of business. As the owners are in their late 60’s they are thining of shutting down rather than mess with all the crap.
There is probably only half of the small businesses left that there were in 2003 – If obummer gets obummercare in another 50% of big businesses will drop employee insurance according to polls takeen nationwide.
What polls are those? Polls by Faux News?
Geez, Who was president in 2003? and 2004? 2005? 2006?