In March of last year, after much cajoling and arm-twisting, the president signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. OK, so, what now?
One intention of the legislation is to expand health coverage to millions of Americans via the small businesses that employ so many of them. You might wonder if there’s been any progress. Well, the success hinges on how small-business owners act in response to the new tools made available through reform provisions. But, over a year later in California, we find that most small businesses still aren’t aware of the new provisions that will make it cheaper and simpler to offer their employees health benefits. Tax credits, which are already available, and the online exchange for purchasing plans, which is being developed, are still foreign concepts; less than 50 percent of small business owners in California are aware of the provisions.
There’s promising news though: once small business owners are informed about these provisions, they are more likely to try them out and either continue offering health coverage, or start offering it for the first time. The more positive their opinion of health care reform, the more likely they are to offer health care to their employees. They also tell us that they are eager to learn more about the provisions, and to learn more now.
That’s great. But how do small-business owners learn about healthcare reform?
Therein lies the dilemma: just how do business owners get informed, in light of the fact that it has been over a year since legislation passed and still so many are uninformed or misinformed? Providing information in a way that they will trust and that will give them a positive impression of reform won’t be easy. Findings from a new report published by InSight at PCV tell us that it can be done if we are strategic and thoughtful about the sources we channel information through and the way we portray the provisions.
It comes down to a few main points that we heard from small business owners themselves:
- They want information now, and they don’t want to perceive that it is coming from the government, or that they will be purchasing insurance plans on a government web site.
- They trust information coming from their insurance brokers and their accountants most, but also trust non-profits, chambers of commerce, and small business associations. (Interestingly, business owners who don’t already use insurance brokers feel a high degree of mistrust towards them, and will need to be communicated with through different channels.)
- Messages that resonate most with California’s small business owners emphasize how reform provisions will make it cheaper to provide coverage, how the web of insurance plan options will be easier to navigate and understand, and how providing insurance will help them to recruit and retain a productive, stable workforce.
If we all agree that expanding health insurance coverage to millions of Californians is a good thing, then let’s get started now, by informing small business owners of these new provisions that will make it cheaper and simpler to provide this important benefit to their employees.
Photo: Obama’s Healthcare Remarks