Many Small Business Owners and Their Employees Do Not Have Health Insurance

A Home Business Article Contributed by Elizabeth Fox-Wise

The Numbers of Small Business Owners Without Health Insurance is Staggering

Increasing rates of health care and health care insurance in the United States have led to many small business owners, and their employees, having to do without health insurance. In the 2000s record numbers of small business owners had to drop the health insurance plans that they were carrying because the premiums got too expensive for them to afford.

Other small business owners, in at attempt to keep offering health insurance to their employees and their families, had to increase the amount of the premium that the employee has to pay. This forced many of their employees to drop the insurance coverage because it was taking too large of a portion of their paycheck to pay for it.

The numbers of uninsured in America is at an all time, staggering high and it has been called a national problem of epidemic proportion.

Small Business Can Get More Affordable Insurance If They Join a Business Association

Joining a business association will allow the small business owner to purchase health insurance for himself and his employees through the business association. By banding together in a business association, small business owners become a larger group. As such, they can better rates on health insurance that used to be only available for large business. The collective buying power of the group of small businesses affords them the opportunity to purchase insurance at the rates that large business always got as a result of their size and buying power.

However, because small business generally has a much smaller operating budget than does large business, sometimes even the opportunity to get big business rates for health insurance still does not make it affordable enough for the small business owner.

What Else Can a Small Business Owner Do to Get Health Insurance

Unfortunately, America does not have any really affordable or cheap health insurance plans available for anyone. However, shopping around among insurance companies and investigating various types of insurance coverage, will sometimes lead the small business owner to something that is affordable for him.

In general, network insurance plans where you visit doctors within a network, such as HMA insurance, is usually the most reasonably priced. You can also investigate insurance policies that have lower premiums and higher co pays for service.

Another option is to consider a Health care Savings Plan which allows you to set money aside for health care costs into a separate account of your own. If the money is not needed for health care, it can be treated like a retirement account and monies can be drawn off at the time of retirement. A Health Care Savings Plan is turning out to be a favorite among many small business owners. That way, if the money is not needed for health care, it is not lost or wasted on insurance that wasn't used.

Deciding to go without any health insurance should be a last resort. In the even of a major illness or injury, the cost of health care could cause you to loose not only your business assets, but personal assets as well.