The Effect of Medicare on Small Businesses
During the Democratic Debates, one topic that was heavily discussed was the idea of Universal Healthcare. However, the one that gained the most recognition was the Medicare-For-AllAct of 2019 by former Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. This Act would provide comprehensive healthcare and insurance to every resident in the United States with no out of pocket expenses. While many still have mixed feelings about this type of healthcare, one group, in particular, showed support due to the direct effect it would have on them: small businesses.
Currently, 49 percent of Americans get their health insurance from their job. That is 156,199,800 Americans. However, this imposes a serious burden on small businesses in particular, as 75% of small businesses say that healthcare costs are a major concern. More than one in three of them say health insurance costs are their primary challenge as a business. For many small businesses, who already operate on slim margins, that system causes them to struggle. It also takes away the necessary money for them to reinvest back into their business to improve upon it, from new materials to increasing wages to boost morale.
A single-payer healthcare system will take the massive burden of healthcare off of small businesses. First off, Medicare-for-all will ensure that they do not have to provide insurance to employees. This would mean small businesses would spend less time worrying about and figuring out how to squeeze health care costs into strained budgets. It would also free up small businesses to devote their energy to innovation and production instead of endless paperwork and phone calls with insurers.
Additionally, Medicare-for-All will cause more people to start businesses, leading to more industry and revenue, as the costs keep many entrepreneurs from taking a leap to start business — — MFA would solve this problem by giving each American access to free healthcare. The plan would give everyone the freedom to start a business without worrying about paying for their employees’ insurance. It would also decrease job-lock because employees are no longer reliant on their job for insurance. This would give them the freedom to start their own small business, without jeopardizing their health coverage. This leads to an overall conclusion that implementing Medicare-for-All will not only help small businesses succeed, by taking a huge burden off their shoulders, but also boost an entire industry.
There have been arguments that MFA will not be effective in helping small businesses, and eventually, the federal government would have to hit employers of all sizes and their employees with huge tax hikes to keep single-payer afloat. However, as there is currently no direct method of funding for Medicare, that is based upon the assumption that it will be fully through taxation. Also, given how MFA will allow small businesses to have a higher success rate, employees will be able to be compensated at higher rates than beforehand. Additionally, whereas in the next ten years, the current healthcare insurance system in the United States is set to take $45 trillion out of American’s pockets, Medicare-for-all is predicted to cost the federal government $32 trillion. Even if some of the funding would be through taxes, a significant amount would still be saved. In all, the primary goal behind Medicare for All is to ensure that every American has health insurance coverage, compared with the roughly 30 million who are uninsured today.
