Will Supplemental Insurance Cover the Gap?
May 2009
Small business owners are struggling with health care issues, and in particular with the costs of
small business health insurance, as legislation currently moving through the Senate could establish a government-run insurance plan.
As seen at
MSNBC, one of the major issues to be addressed is whether or not a government plan, much like Medicare, should be another option for small business owners.
However, as opponents remind us, we must remember that it isn't as if Medicare operates without flaws. Problems with the plan are numerous, and as such, will more supplemental insurance become the next "holy grail" in the search for decent, affordable coverage?
Certainly the pressures associated with providing and funding good quality small business health insurance are taking their toll on business owners. As one owner put it, "small businesses 'already have enough bad choices - high-deductible, low-benefit plans that are barely worth the paper they're written on."
The hopes of such business owners involve the option of a government-run program that would entail less paperwork, fewer restrictions, and lower fees than the small business health insurance plans offered today.
However, opposing business organizations cite the unwieldy and sometimes ineffectual Medicare system, in which many individuals must rely on supplemental insurance plans to cover important procedures and medications.
And should a Medicare-like program take effect, the type of coverage available may come as a surprise to American workers used to more extensive coverage.
Facts on:
Small Business Health Insurance
Did you know...
A public plan could be 9% cheaper than current small-business policies?
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At the same time, as fewer and fewer businesses can afford to offer insurance in any form, a government-run program would beat none at all. Concerned workers could opt to buy their own
supplemental insurance if they need it.
The article goes on to say that "a study by the Lewin Group for the Commonwealth Fund estimates that a public plan could offer small businesses insurance that is at least 9% cheaper than current small-business policies."
And in today's economic climate, 9% can mean the difference between keeping the doors open, and losing the business altogether.
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