Health reform and small business roundtable

Small Business Majority was well represented at an April 24 meeting at the White House on small business and healthcare reform.

There were 17 people at the roundtable discussion led by Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Participants included Terry Gardiner, national legislative director of Small Business Majority, and five small business owners affiliated with our organization, who discussed their own problems with the current system of health insurance coverage:

Chris and Becky Link, co-owners of Imagination Branding in Nashville, TN
Louise Hardaway, owner of Factor4Life in Nashville, TN
Mark Derbyshire, owner of Park Moving and Storage in Aberdeen, MD
Brian England, owner of British American Auto in Columbia, MD

Becky Link lamented the reductions her company has had to make in the health plan it offers workers. The changes mean employees must pay more out of pocket. "It's changed the culture of our company," she said.

Derbyshire said "small businesses are left holding the bag" of rapidly rising insurance premiums, "and the bag is getting heavier."

The rest of the participants were other small business owners and representatives of various business groups.

DeParle said the meeting was one of a series of stakeholder sessions her office is sponsoring to gather information about the need for reform and possible solutions. Also speaking from the administration was Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council, who reiterated the importance of medical cost containment to the economy.

Before the roundtable, the Department of Health and Human Services released Helping the Bottom Line: Health Reform and Small Business, a new report on the impact of high healthcare costs on small businesses.