WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today spoke out for the need for health care reform to help small businesses. Skyrocketing health care costs are driving small businesses across America and in Maryland to cut health benefits and even jobs.

“This is about jobs, jobs, jobs,” Senator Mikulski said. “Small businesses drive our economy. We need to help bring down health care costs, so they can keep creating jobs and keep powering our economy.”

Insurance companies often penalize small businesses. Insurance premiums are expected to increase by as much as 25 percent for Maryland small businesses in 2010. Only 56 percent of Maryland small businesses with fewer than 50 employees provide health insurance. Without health reform, the number of Maryland small businesses that can afford insurance will continue to decline.

“Good-guy businesses want to do right by their employees, but they can’t do it on their own,” Senator Mikulski said. “Small businesses are being saddled with skyrocketing costs while insurance companies and their executives are reaping record profits. We can’t afford to do nothing. Under the status quo, many small businesses will be forced to cut benefits, cut jobs, or shut their doors for good.”

Health care reform will help small businesses by:

• Setting up insurance exchanges that pool small businesses and individuals together to increase their purchasing power, increase their health plan choices, and drive down costs.

• Offering new credits to help small businesses offer their employees affordable health coverage.

• Cracking down on punitive insurance company practices – like hiking up rates on small businesses, watering down coverage, or denying coverage because one worker has a serious illness. Under health care reform yearly and lifetime coverage caps will be prohibited and denying coverage because of a pre-existing conditions will be banned.

• Helping self-employed workers by allowing them to purchase lower cost health insurance through the insurance exchange.

• Exempting businesses with fewer than 25 employees from paying a penalty if they don’t provide coverage for their workers. Individuals will be able to purchase affordable and subsidized health care insurance through the exchanges.

“Under the status quo, insurance companies continue to profit while small businesses and their employees continue to suffer,” Senator Mikulski said. “We are going to fix that with health care reform.”