Small Businesses are ready for health care reform!
On the eve of the release of President Clinton’s health plan, a small business industry leader went on record saying, “no matter how you try to sweeten the taste, arsenic is arsenic.” The truth is that such attitudes were the arsenic that have brought our health care system to what we have today—sky-rocketing costs and decreasing quality. Today, small business is now ready to answer President Obama’s call in his inaugural speech that “the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply” as we “begin again the work of remaking America.”
Small business’ commitment to reform has been growing. During California’s health reform debate, we found that 62 percent of the small business owners we represent are ready to be a part of a system of shared responsibility. This may sound like a different message than what many national business leaders are saying out loud. But that old-style posturing ignores the sense of urgency that real small business owners feel.
In October of this past year, small business owners at California’s first-ever Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship identified health care as one of the top ten challenges they face out of hundreds of issues discussed. Small businesses will make the investment in the type of health reform proposed by President Obama, but only if we can implement meaningful cost containment.
So what has changed in 15 years? Simply put, the state of our health care system. Health care costs are rising faster than wages, faster than our economy can keep up with in even the best of times. It is harder and harder for small business to be able to do the right thing and offer their employees the health insurance they need and deserve.
Small businesses understand the challenge – and necessity – of the systemic reinvention we need in health care. Small business owners want to be able to offer insurance. But with their eye always on the bottom line, they know that we cannot expand coverage without also making sure the system works better for everyone. There are four key areas where we want to see affirmative change – improving information, creating performance incentives, improving technology, and focusing on prevention.
First, we need to help doctors understand the costs and impacts of different treatment options. New treatments and medications come on the market nearly every day, yet we lack a system to understand how they compare in cost and effectiveness with existing treatments. To use resources more wisely, we must undertake “comparative effectiveness” research, and empower patients and physicians with the results so they can make better decisions.
Second, we need better information about which doctors and hospitals are doing the best job in serving their consumers so we can create incentives for good performance. Small businesses understand the principle of sink or swim – competition is fierce and only those who can learn and improve quality and efficiency can flourish. We need to measure providers’ performance and help them understand how they can learn and improve as well. Creating incentives for physicians to improve will allow us to pay them for the value of their services in achieving good health outcomes, not the volume of procedures performed.
Third, we know that health information technology such as electronic prescriptions reduce medical errors, which means better outcomes for patients and less waste. Health Affairs and the RAND Corporation have estimated the possible cost savings from health information technology to be between $77 and $81 billion annually. Yet, the Wall Street Journal just reported that while the number of physicians using electronic prescriptions has doubled in the last year – it is still just 12 percent of office-based physicians.
Finally, at the end of the day, the best way to save costs in our system is to simply help Americans live healthier lives. Sky-rocketing increases in chronic disease, an obesity epidemic, and other poor health indicators are directly related to rising health care costs for employers. Addressing these problems means not just expanding the use of preventive services and wellness education. If individuals understand how to manage their chronic diseases, they can avoid the costs of treating these conditions if they worsen and maintain a higher quality of life.
It is time to get the business of health care back in order in America. Small businesses are on board because we know that we must address the challenge of rising costs and access to care in order to compete in the global economy and build a strong foundation for our economy to grow. Clearly, this is an area where national leadership is necessary to help achieve significant savings in costs – and lives. It’s time to embrace the new politics of health reform: yes we can.
Scott Hauge
President, Small Business California
and
Tania Sole
Principal at physyKO.net
About the Authors....
SCOTT G. HAUGE - BIOGRAPHY
Scott G. Hauge is the President and owner of CAL Insurance & Associates, Inc., located at 2311 Taraval Street, San Francisco. The company was founded in 1927 and currently has 29 employees. The agency specializes in providing insurance for small to medium sized businesses.
Mr. Hauge has been a leading advocate in paving the way for small and medium sized businesses. He has introduced government legislation that has affected business on local, state and national levels. He is considered one of the insurance industry’s leaders in setting guidelines and has received numerous awards and countless commendations for his efforts. His most recent award received was the 2007 Small Business Advocate of the Year presented by The National Small Business Association (NSBA).
Mr. Hauge is renowned for his knowledge and how to best protect and serve the business community. He is currently a member of over 20 boards and commissions in San Francisco and California. He is founder and President of Small Business California, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group for small business in California. It outreaches to 2700 small businesses statewide representing most of the 3.2 million small businesses in California.
TANIA SOLE - BIOGRAPHY
Tania Sole is one of the principals of Greenslip Inc., founded in 1996, a company developing projects in alternative energies including bio-fuels, solar and wind. The company’s mission is to help clean the air by improving transportation. In 1997, a Greenslip facility was California’s first test only emissions center. As part of this, Tania Sole was invited to participate in the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Small Business Advisory Board.
Prior to Greenslip Inc., Ms. Sole worked in the high tech industry at various companies including Shany Inc and Intel Corp. At Shany Inc. in her role as VP of Operations, Ms. Sole negotiated the sale of the company including its international parent to Intel Corp, the world leader in silicon innovation.
As a small business owner, Ms. Sole has realized that the current health care system is unsustainable and needs to be redesigned. She co-chaired the Taskforce on Healthcare for Governor Schwarzenegger’s Conference on Small Business & Entrepreneurship and is leading the ongoing working group that is part of the Office of the Small Business Advocate. She maintains a blog on healthcare at www.physyko.net and is in the process of completing a book on the subject.
Article originally published in the SF Examiner
Small business’ commitment to reform has been growing. During California’s health reform debate, we found that 62 percent of the small business owners we represent are ready to be a part of a system of shared responsibility. This may sound like a different message than what many national business leaders are saying out loud. But that old-style posturing ignores the sense of urgency that real small business owners feel.
In October of this past year, small business owners at California’s first-ever Conference on Small Business and Entrepreneurship identified health care as one of the top ten challenges they face out of hundreds of issues discussed. Small businesses will make the investment in the type of health reform proposed by President Obama, but only if we can implement meaningful cost containment.
So what has changed in 15 years? Simply put, the state of our health care system. Health care costs are rising faster than wages, faster than our economy can keep up with in even the best of times. It is harder and harder for small business to be able to do the right thing and offer their employees the health insurance they need and deserve.
Small businesses understand the challenge – and necessity – of the systemic reinvention we need in health care. Small business owners want to be able to offer insurance. But with their eye always on the bottom line, they know that we cannot expand coverage without also making sure the system works better for everyone. There are four key areas where we want to see affirmative change – improving information, creating performance incentives, improving technology, and focusing on prevention.
First, we need to help doctors understand the costs and impacts of different treatment options. New treatments and medications come on the market nearly every day, yet we lack a system to understand how they compare in cost and effectiveness with existing treatments. To use resources more wisely, we must undertake “comparative effectiveness” research, and empower patients and physicians with the results so they can make better decisions.
Second, we need better information about which doctors and hospitals are doing the best job in serving their consumers so we can create incentives for good performance. Small businesses understand the principle of sink or swim – competition is fierce and only those who can learn and improve quality and efficiency can flourish. We need to measure providers’ performance and help them understand how they can learn and improve as well. Creating incentives for physicians to improve will allow us to pay them for the value of their services in achieving good health outcomes, not the volume of procedures performed.
Third, we know that health information technology such as electronic prescriptions reduce medical errors, which means better outcomes for patients and less waste. Health Affairs and the RAND Corporation have estimated the possible cost savings from health information technology to be between $77 and $81 billion annually. Yet, the Wall Street Journal just reported that while the number of physicians using electronic prescriptions has doubled in the last year – it is still just 12 percent of office-based physicians.
Finally, at the end of the day, the best way to save costs in our system is to simply help Americans live healthier lives. Sky-rocketing increases in chronic disease, an obesity epidemic, and other poor health indicators are directly related to rising health care costs for employers. Addressing these problems means not just expanding the use of preventive services and wellness education. If individuals understand how to manage their chronic diseases, they can avoid the costs of treating these conditions if they worsen and maintain a higher quality of life.
It is time to get the business of health care back in order in America. Small businesses are on board because we know that we must address the challenge of rising costs and access to care in order to compete in the global economy and build a strong foundation for our economy to grow. Clearly, this is an area where national leadership is necessary to help achieve significant savings in costs – and lives. It’s time to embrace the new politics of health reform: yes we can.
Scott Hauge
President, Small Business California
and
Tania Sole
Principal at physyKO.net
About the Authors....
SCOTT G. HAUGE - BIOGRAPHY
Scott G. Hauge is the President and owner of CAL Insurance & Associates, Inc., located at 2311 Taraval Street, San Francisco. The company was founded in 1927 and currently has 29 employees. The agency specializes in providing insurance for small to medium sized businesses.
Mr. Hauge has been a leading advocate in paving the way for small and medium sized businesses. He has introduced government legislation that has affected business on local, state and national levels. He is considered one of the insurance industry’s leaders in setting guidelines and has received numerous awards and countless commendations for his efforts. His most recent award received was the 2007 Small Business Advocate of the Year presented by The National Small Business Association (NSBA).
Mr. Hauge is renowned for his knowledge and how to best protect and serve the business community. He is currently a member of over 20 boards and commissions in San Francisco and California. He is founder and President of Small Business California, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group for small business in California. It outreaches to 2700 small businesses statewide representing most of the 3.2 million small businesses in California.
TANIA SOLE - BIOGRAPHY
Tania Sole is one of the principals of Greenslip Inc., founded in 1996, a company developing projects in alternative energies including bio-fuels, solar and wind. The company’s mission is to help clean the air by improving transportation. In 1997, a Greenslip facility was California’s first test only emissions center. As part of this, Tania Sole was invited to participate in the Bureau of Automotive Repair’s Small Business Advisory Board.
Prior to Greenslip Inc., Ms. Sole worked in the high tech industry at various companies including Shany Inc and Intel Corp. At Shany Inc. in her role as VP of Operations, Ms. Sole negotiated the sale of the company including its international parent to Intel Corp, the world leader in silicon innovation.
As a small business owner, Ms. Sole has realized that the current health care system is unsustainable and needs to be redesigned. She co-chaired the Taskforce on Healthcare for Governor Schwarzenegger’s Conference on Small Business & Entrepreneurship and is leading the ongoing working group that is part of the Office of the Small Business Advocate. She maintains a blog on healthcare at www.physyko.net and is in the process of completing a book on the subject.
Article originally published in the SF Examiner
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