The Healthcare Crisis and Small Business

• Market-based pooling arrangements achieve greater purchasing clout, spread risk, and lower administrative costs.  This leads to increased affordability and choices for the purchase of private health insurance for business owners and their employees.
• Such pooling approaches might include purchasing pools, connectors and exchanges.

• Tax credits can be used to supplement the cost of private health insurance for employers, the self-employed and individuals.
• Tax-equity for the self-employed and individuals is a significant step toward creating a more level playing field on the tax treatment of health insurance.

• Small businesses want the flexibility to choose the health insurance packages that best meet the needs of
• their workforce.
• These products should be comprised of a range of choices that include traditional insurance products, account-based arrangements and cafeteria plan options that allow consumers the freedom to spend healthcare dollars as they see fit.

• Too often, healthcare information is difficult to obtain and incomprehensible to consumers.  Improved transparency is critical to enhancing consumerism across the healthcare marketplace.
• All consumers, including employers, employees and individuals across all insurance markets need accurate and useful information on costs, quality and performance of products.