[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 20, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6658-S6659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HEALTH CARE CRISIS FOR SMALL BUSINESS

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I will speak for a moment on an unrelated 
matter. I know we are working on a schedule to accommodate a vote on 
the amendment that was offered last night by Senator Graham of South 
Carolina, myself, and others.
  Last week, I spoke about the burden of the high cost of health care 
on families in South Dakota and across the country.
  I spoke of citizens who were forced to pay health care premiums as 
high as $10,000 per year but received only the sparest benefits in 
return.
  I spoke of citizens with serious health problems who were not able to 
acquire coverage because insurers decided it wasn't profitable for 
them.
  I spoke of the millions of Americans living in fear because they were 
just one layoff, one bad crop, or one illness away from losing their 
health insurance and being driven into poverty and poor health.
  But the high costs of health insurance are a burden not only to 
individuals, they are also a huge burden to small business. In the past 
year alone, health care premiums for businesses have risen more than 13 
percent. If this keeps up, the cost of health care for businesses will 
double every 7 years--six times faster than their revenues.
  Small businesses, which employ 50 percent of the workers in this 
country, face the greatest pressure of all. Because they are not big 
enough to bargain with insurers for better rates, small businesses too 
often are forced to pay for the nationwide increase in health care 
costs.
  In the past year, in the midst of the toughest business environment 
in a generation, the total cost for insuring employees of small 
businesses rose 18 percent. Seventy percent of small businesses that do 
not cover their workers say that high costs are the No. 1 obstacle.
  Many businesses are forced to shift costs to their workers in the 
form of higher copayments and fewer benefits. Many others cut benefits 
altogether. Those who want to keep their commitment to their employees 
pay a penalty for having less capital to grow their business and create 
more jobs.
  Entrepreneurs with good ideas and solid business plans are scared off 
because health premiums are making the cost of starting and growing a 
business higher and higher. Skyrocketing health costs could pose the 
single greatest obstacle to entrepreneurship and growth in our economy 
today.
  I recently heard from the Jensen family. Daren and Paula Jensen live 
with their three boys in Langford, a small town of about 300 in the 
northeast corner of South Dakota.
  Daren and Paula own a body shop, Jensen's Auto, which Daren runs. The 
Jensens have one employee, but because the cost of insurance is so 
high, they cannot afford to pay for the insurance to provide health 
benefits.
  Daren used to receive coverage through his wife who worked at the 
local bank, but when she quit her job to take care of their children, 
the family was covered through COBRA, the law that provides temporary 
access to a former employer's insurance.
  Their COBRA monthly premium was $525, but to keep that same coverage 
after COBRA expired would cost them more than twice that. The Jensens 
could not afford to spend $14,000 a year

[[Page S6659]]

on health coverage. So they had to find another health plan.
  They researched every possible plan and could not find an affordable 
one to cover the whole family. In the end, it made more sense to seek 
insurance separately. Daren enrolled in a plan that cost $250 a month 
and has a $500 deductible. Since Daren is a diabetic and spends $150 
per month on medication, his coverage was the most important. The rest 
of the family--Paula and the three boys--enrolled in a plan with a 
$3,000 annual premium and a $1,000 deductible.
  After a year, the premiums went up to almost $5,000. They could no 
longer afford coverage so Paula dropped hers, and her children have 
found coverage through South Dakota's Children's Health Insurance 
Program, CHIP.
  Too many small business owners face exactly that challenge, but we 
can do something to help them and support the efforts of entrepreneurs 
who drive our economy. A recent study shows that nearly 9 out of 10 
small businesses favor a tax credit that would help employers buy 
health insurance for their employees.
  In January, a number of us introduced a small business tax credit 
provision in S. 10, the Health Care Coverage Expansion and Quality 
Improvement Act of 2003. This 50-percent tax credit will help small 
businesses with less than 50 employees obtain affordable health 
coverage.
  The small business tax credit will help small business owners, such 
as the Jensens, spark more investment and growth by small business and 
move us closer to health care for every American.
  This problem will not solve itself. Unless we act, health care 
premiums will continue to rise, driving more people on to the rolls of 
the uninsured and keeping more businesses from growing and creating 
jobs.
  We can do better. It is a national problem, and it demands national 
leadership to fix it. Small businesses can, once again, be the engine 
for growth in our economy, but we need to provide them with the 
opportunities to remove the obstacles to that growth.
  This is a critical moment in our Nation's history. We have an 
obligation to focus on the troubles of our economy and the Americans 
who are struggling to work and raise families.
  We intend to do all we can to keep the Senate's attention focused on 
the crisis in health care. Our citizens are asking for this kind of 
leadership, and we have an obligation to answer their call.
  I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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