Obama Pitches Health Bill to Businesses

President Barack Obama says small businesses that participate in a proposed government health care plan could save a quarter on their premiums by 2016.

Few people have a bigger stake in health reform than small business owners, Obama said on Thursday, speaking to members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business and small business owners from across the country.

In one national survey, nearly three quarters of small business that don't offer benefits cited high premiums as the reason, the president said. Many small businesses may see their premiums rise about 15 percent over the coming year, and because small businesses pay higher administrative costs than large ones, their employees pay up to 18 percent more in premium.

"The bottom line is that too many Americans like you can't afford to build the kinds of businesses you'd been hoping to build," Mr. Obama said. "And too many budding entrepreneurs can't afford to take a gamble on a smart idea because they can't give up the health insurance they get in their current job. That's bad for our economy, it's bad for our country, and it's what we'll change when health insurance reform becomes law."

The House version of a health care bill would help millions of small businesses cut growing health care costs and was written with small businesses owners in mind, the president said. While the bill requires businesses of a certain size to either provide their workers adequate health care coverage or pay a fee, about 90 percent of small businesses would be exempt from this requirement, he said.