Half Of Small Business Owners Favor Repeal Of Health Care Law

More than half of small business owners support the repeal of the health care reform law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in 2010, according to a new survey from Discover.

Nearly half (47%) of small business owners who offer health insurance to their employees said they are considering discontinuing health insurance because the costs are too high – the highest figure since Discover began the survey four years ago. Fifty-one percent of small business owners who offer health insurance to their employees say they are not considering discontinuing the insurance, and 2 percent were unsure.

The first poll about health care was conducted in 2008, when 40 percent of respondents offering health insurance to employees said they were considering discontinuing it because of cost. That figure had dropped to 29 percent last year, but rose 18 points to 47 percent in this year’s survey.

Forty-six percent say the new health care reform will hurt their small business, while 27 percent say the new plan will help, 16 percent say it will have no impact, and 11 percent are not sure. Eleven percent of small business owners report that obtaining affordable health care is “not very” difficult, while five percent report no difficulty and 15 percent are not sure.

"Small business owners are suffering from rising health care costs, and according to the survey, most don’t believe the current law is the solution,” said Ryan Scully, director of Discover’s small business card.