SurePayroll Insights Survey: Most Small Business Owners Say Healthcare will Influence Vote in 2008 Election

GLENVIEW, Ill. — July 24, 2007 - A recent survey conducted by online payroll service SurePayroll found that most small business owners consider healthcare issues key in determining their vote for the 2008 presidential election, and are looking to the government to address the rising costs of providing plans.

The survey found that 75% of small business owners who currently offer their employees a healthcare plan consider healthcare "very important" or "important" in deciding their vote. Those who do not currently offer a plan responded similarly, with 70% noting the issue's political influence.

SurePayroll conducted the survey as a follow-up to its July 2006 small business healthcare survey, which found that 58% of small business owners offered healthcare plans, 11% of which were unsure of whether or not they would continue offering benefits in 2007, depending on costs.

Healthcare Causes Financial Struggles for Small Businesses

This year's survey found that despite rising costs, 69% of small business owners offer healthcare - an increase of 19% over last year - and that all of them plan to continue offering it in 2008.

While many small business owner respondents said they offer a healthcare plan to employees because "it's the right thing to do," the same amount (37%) said the main reason they offer a plan is so they can attract quality employees.

"We need to be able to offer the right plan to attract the right people, but it's almost too expensive to do," replied one respondent.

SurePayroll President Michael Alter says in a competitive labor market small businesses must offer plans, even if it hurt their bottom line.

"To stay competitive, more small business owners are offering healthcare and know they must continue offering it - even though it is a drain on business," said SurePayroll President Michael Alter. "Most of them know the current healthcare situation can have major, negative economic effects, and are putting pressure on the government to find a solution."

Cost Remains Biggest Factor in Maintaining Healthcare Coverage

Of the 32% of small business owners who said they currently do not offer healthcare benefits, the largest amount (52%) said it was because plans are too costly.

In addition, 49% of these business owners said they did not plan on offering a healthcare plan in the future, while 43% said their decision whether or not to offer in the future depended on the cost of plans.

SurePayroll's 2006 survey found similar results. Last year, 44% had no plans to offer a healthcare plan in 2007, and 46% said they decision depended entirely on plan costs.

"Due to spiraling health insurance premiums (annual increases of 12% to 20%), I am seeing many small business owners decreasing the level of coverage for employees," stated one small business owner. "This is only adding to the problem, since more employees are now going under-insured. I believe that we will face a healthcare crisis in the U.S. in the next 5-10 years as a result."

Additional Findings

- 64% of small business owners who currently offer healthcare do so in the form of PPOs (Preferred Provider Organizations), while 21% offer HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) and 15% offer a combination or different plan.

- The largest amount (58%) who offer healthcare plans contribute 81% to 100% to the overall cost. The next largest group (17%) contributes 41% to 60%.

Some small business owners offered additional insight on healthcare in relation to small business:

• "I would prefer a universal system that employees pay into, like social security. Healthcare should not be controlled by 'for profit' companies. Providing healthcare should be removed from the employer's list of responsibilities."
• "It is a better value to me and my employees to provide health insurance rather than increase their pay and expect them to pay for it with after tax money."
• "Healthcare benefits are a must for attracting and keeping talented professionals. As a small business, we pride ourselves at providing the best healthcare benefits money can buy. As a benefits manager for over 20 years, I've been very concerned about the declining quality of healthcare and increasing costs. Something has got to be done; it is time for a change."

Full results of last year's SurePayroll healthcare survey are available at High Healthcare Costs Big Concern for Small Business Owners.

About SurePayroll:

SurePayroll is America's largest full-service online payroll provider. In addition to its payroll and ClickFREE™ tax file and pay service - which allows a user to complete the entire payroll process in minutes - SurePayroll provides HR and compliance resources, workers' compensation products and 401(k) retirement solutions designed specifically for small businesses.

SurePayroll also offers a private-label and co-branded payroll service to accounting and banking partners to offer payroll processing to their small business clients.

SurePayroll is passionate about small businesses and their payroll. The company is dedicated to providing an extremely friendly and simple payroll experience - at a price small business owners can afford. For more information, visit www.surepayroll.com.

For Media Inquiries Contact:

Frank Krolicki
Walker Sands Communications
www.walkersands.com
Phone: (312) 546-4127
Email: surepayroll-inquiries@walkersands.com