If Obama wants to really help small businesses, he should focus on health care

Recommended article in Newsweek, A Healthy Proposition penned by Kevin Kelly as a web exclusive. He shares some of his thoughts and concerns as a small business person. It was thought provoking which is why it's recommended. A small part of what was stated because I think what his company has done is noteworthy:

Last year, this juggling act no longer seemed possible. Some of our employees were paying close to $200 a month as part of their premium sharing, depending on their age. While our workers make good money (up to $23 an hour for semiskilled labor), their contribution could, on the lower end of the pay scale, amount to 10 percent of their income. Not surprisingly, our employees complained, especially as high gasoline prices siphoned off cash and falling home values threatened many with foreclosure.

So we got creative. We devised a safety bonus that provided employees $100 for each month our factory logged no injuries. That helped us cut our workers'-compensation insurance cost while putting cash in the hands of our workers. The offset of lower workers' comp covered half the cost of our medical increases, so our family made the decision to eat the jump in this year's cost. When we told our employees at a factory meeting they applauded. But they grew gravely silent when I explained how many more bags we'd have to sell to cover the expense.

Given the rising cost, we continue to look for ways to save. For instance, we've started to encourage healthy habits. Last year we paid for gym memberships for our office staff, around 18 people. It's a city-run facility with low rates, so the deal only cost $3,500. Thinning waistlines among some staffers testified to the program's success. We also contracted with a local company called the Fruit Guys to have a box of fresh fruit delivered to the office each week. This has helped reduce the amount of junk food, especially chocolate, consumed in the office, probably as a way to handle stress.

My husband's company has increased what we pay for health care, without any of the additional benefits that Kelly's company has done. He is actually earning less in net income than he did two years ago related to the increase in health care costs, even less when you take into consideration the higher copays and prescription deductions we now have compared to several years ago. I agree with Kevin Kelly something has to be done, and soon.