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:
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 the online alternative to ADP® and Paychex®. SurePayroll's service and team members are dedicated to providing an easy, convenient online payroll service at a price small business owners can afford. Tens of thousands of customers rely on SurePayroll to process payroll wherever they want in as few as two minutes.
In addition, SurePayroll offers small businesses solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers' compensation, HR compliance and employee screening. For accountants and banking partners, SurePayroll provides private-label services that enable them to offer payroll processing to their small business clients.
Over the last decade, SurePayroll has received numerous prestigious awards for its innovative technology and outstanding customer service, including recognition from PC Magazine, Inc. 500, Accounting Today, the Stevie Awards and many others.
For more information, you can visit http://www.surepayroll.com, call 877.954.7873 or follow us on http://twitter.com/SurePayroll.
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