[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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