In the Aug. 24 edition of Crain’s Detroit Business (subscription required), SBAM’s Vice President Small Business Services Scott Lyon said that SBAM opposes the “pay or play” employer mandate that is contained in most of the federal health insurance reform bills. Excerpt:
Scott Lyon, SBAM’s vice president of small-business services, said his group favors an individual mandate for people to purchase their own health insurance.
But Lyon said the rising of health insurance premiums is the main problem for small companies.
“The first, second and third problem with health care is cost. Our average member is spending $8,300 per employee, per year, on health insurance,” said Lyon. “Everyone has their own picture in mind to address the uninsured. There are about 12 million who can’t afford insurance, but we believe most are uninsured because it costs too much.”