October 25, 2009
Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care
By REED ABELSON
NY Times

As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health
care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise
in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.

Insurance brokers and benefits consultants say their small business
clients are seeing premiums go up an average of about 15 percent for the
coming year — double the rate of last year’s increases. That would mean
an annual premium that was $4,500 per employee in 2008 and $4,800 this
year would rise to $5,500 in 2010.

The higher premiums at least partly reflect the inexorable rise of
medical costs, which is forcing Medicare to raise premiums, too. Health
insurance bills are also rising for big employers, but because they have
more negotiating clout, their increases are generally not as steep.

Higher medical costs aside, some experts say they think the insurance
industry, under pressure from Wall Street, is raising premiums to get
ahead of any legislative changes that might reduce their profits.

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Yeah, like we really truly need for-profit health insurers who rape all
of us repeatedly.