By TOM LUCAS
As a small business owner, I applaud the governor and our legislative leaders for their efforts to get stakeholders in California thinking and talking about finding effective approaches to fixing the dysfunctional health-care system in our state. We hope that the special legislative session on health care will provide further exchange and discussion about the issue of affordability one area that has so far been discussed very little, if at all.
Our leaders shouldn’t handle something as critically important as health care in a haphazard, rushed manner. We need to be sure all stakeholders, including small business, are at the table to discuss ways to make health care more affordable for Californians. If this process is rushed in order to make headlines without determining how people will pay for this, everyone will lose.
We recognize that health-care costs are increasing by double digits each year, and that people are having more and more difficulty finding affordable, accessible health care. We understand that individuals, business and government can’t afford health care. Only when we begin to discuss and identify ways to make health care more affordable for small-business people and their employees will we be able to pave the way to accessibility.
Small-business owners are no different than families on a fixed income who must balance a very tight budget each month. When unexpected new costs arise, families and small business owners are forced to make fast, tough decisions in order to make ends meet.
Forced spending
Most aren’t left with much, if any, money at the end of the day once administrative, payroll, overhead, operational and other costs are taken care of. So when state leaders begin talking about imposing a “one-size-fits-all” mandated payroll tax, small business people have good reason to be nervous. Government is forcing them to spend money they don’t have.
Incentives and flexibility, not government mandates, are the key to ensuring Californians have access to quality health care. Let small business people and their employees work together to find health care plans, products and services that best meet their needs. When people have the opportunity in a free market to decide what works best for them, they are going to make better choices that work and last. People spend their own money more wisely when they have choices rather than when they’re told how to spend it.
I agree with the governor’s ideas about transparency let people have a better view of health plans to allow them to make the best decisions. People should have the ability to compare a visit to a doctor that may cost $200 as compared with a community clinic that most cost $70, so they can make the best decision for themselves and their families.
California can take one simple step to help more small businesses provide health insurance by conforming to federal tax laws surrounding health savings accounts, which empower employers and employees to set aside money for health-care products and services. We realize health savings accounts won’t work for or be preferred by everyone, but we do believe that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” and this gives people one of many options.
I also believe we need market-based pooling arrangements, which would allow business owners to join together to purchase health insurance at bulk rates. One of the most powerful forces in the marketplace is competition. If we allow small businesses to compare plans that work and are most affordable for them, they’ll make sure the quality and price are optimal for what they need. Larger businesses and even labor are allowed to do this, but small businesses are not.
I look forward to the continued discussions in the days ahead about true health-care reform. I hope that the governor and leaders in Sacramento take the time to explore all the options and that all stakeholders are included. That is the only way true reform will take place.
Tom Lucas is owner of Performance Nursery in Redondo Beach and a member of the National Federation of Independent Business.
