FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Conan Knoll
conan@emccommunications.com
(831) 524-6764
Nearly half of small business owners say their healthcare costs have increased substantially over the last four years. Sixty-six percent say the prescription drug market is not working and is in need of a major overhaul, and more than a third of small businesses who provide healthcare to employees have held off on hiring a new employee as a result of their rising healthcare costs.
Washington, D.C., May 18, 2021—Small Business for America’s Future released a national survey today showing that small business owners think that the prescription drug market is broken and that the rising costs of healthcare is slowing their growth, causing them to raise prices on their products and impacting hiring decisions. The survey of 1,052 small business owners in the Small Business for America’s Future network shows they feel this is an urgent issue that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress must address.
Specifically, the survey results show:
—89% of small businesses surveyed say the costs of prescription drugs are too high and 63% have an unfavorable view of pharmaceutical companies
—75% of small business owners providing health coverage to employees say their healthcare costs have increased over the last four years and 48% have seen significant increases of 7% or more
—Nearly one in three small business owners providing health coverage to employees have considered dropping it—the vast majority (78%) because healthcare costs are high
—66% say the current prescription drug market is not working and is in need of a major overhaul
—87% of small business owners believe is it important that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress take action to lower prescription drugs costs
—55% of small businesses providing coverage to employees say the rising costs of healthcare have delayed growth opportunities for their business
—40% of small businesses providing healthcare coverage to employees have increased the costs of goods and services as a result of rising healthcare costs
—More than a third of small businesses providing healthcare coverage to employees have held off on hiring a new employee as a result of their rising healthcare costs
“The cost of healthcare and prescription drugs have skyrocketed for many small businesses and it’s having a real impact on their growth,” said Small Business for America’s Future Co-Chair Erika Gonzalez, an Allergy & Asthma Medical Professional and small business owner based in San Antonio. “If we are going to have a strong small business sector and economic recovery, we need our policymakers to act to rein in these costs. It’s an urgent priority of small businesses.”
The survey shows that small business owners support a broad number of measures to lower the costs of prescription drugs. Findings include:
—More respondents (a 42% plurality) are concerned that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress will not go far enough in acting to bring down prescription drug costs than the number (27%) who were concerned they would go too far
—82% say it’s time for the government to limit unjustified price increases to no more than inflation, and 79% say lower drug prices will not hurt industry’s ability to develop new treatments and cures
—89% support capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors enrolled in Medicare
—85% support adopting policies that eliminate anti-competitive behaviors and patent abuses that extend brand drug monopolies that block price competition
—85% support allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies on drug prices for seniors and people in private insurance
View the full survey report here.
###
About Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.