Survey: California Small-Business Owners Back Health Care Reform
Eighty percent of small-business owners in California believe that employers should pay something to provide health care coverage to their workers, according to a survey released Thursday by Small Business for Affordable Healthcare, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The coalition recently formed to counter the National Federation of Independent Business and other conservative groups that represent small businesses.
The poll also found that:
- 55% of respondents favor contributions to a statewide pool that would provide health care coverage to their employees;
- 47% of respondents said they support Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) proposal to require employers to contribute 4% of payroll toward coverage for their workers;
- 47% of respondents said they also back AB 8 by Democratic legislative leaders to require employers to contribute 7.5% of payroll toward coverage; and
- 42% of respondents said they support SB 840 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) to create a single-payer, state-run health care system (DeBare, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/24).
The poll surveyed 506 randomly selected small-business owners and senior managers between Aug. 2 and Aug. 15. The findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The survey's results contrast with findings by NFIB, which maintains that a large majority of small-business owners in California oppose the health care reform proposals under consideration. The organization based its findings on surveys of its members (Darcé, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/24).
Michael Shaw, legislative director of NFIB, said, "We believe that mandating employers to provide health insurance will stifle growth in the state and violate federal law" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/24).