Small Businesses Wary Of Health Care Reform Bill

Lazy Magnolia Brewery in Kiln, Mississippi

The majority of Mississippians work for a small business, and President Obama has vowed that his healthcare reform bill will make the insurance process more secure for small business owners and their employees. But as MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports not everyone is so convinced.

Leslie Henderson, owner of the Lazy Magnolia Brewery is standing the bottling room in Kiln, Mississippi.

“So you can see the bottles going around the full line getting filled up.”

Lazy Magnolia Brewery employs 14 people and provides health insurance for all their employees, which isn’t easy or cheap says Henderson,

“It is a struggle, but the way I see it is a great benefit to my employees. I really love and care about all my people here, they are like family and I see that as something very important to do.”

21% of all Mississippians are uninsured. April Davis, is the office manager at Lazy Magnolia, and she feels lucky to be one of those whose employer's provides coverage.

“Prior to this I didn’t have health insurance. Once I got out of my parents house that was it. Blue Cross & Blue Shield has been great, it is only $25 dollars. It is a low deductible when I go in to see my doctor, and they pretty much cover everything.”

Mississippi’s has more than 46,000 small business employers in the state, but many of them cannot afford to provide insurance. President Obama has pledged that his healthcare reform will help small businesses and those employed by them, maintain and secure healthcare at an affordable price by providing tax credits and opening the market to more competition. But Leslie Henderson isn’t convinced,

“It’s simply not possible to do that. This plan is not going to reduce the cost of healthcare at all. It is simply going to add levels of bureaucracy. It is going to take away competition and none of those things help to reduce cost. He’s got a wonderful heart, he wants to help, but he is thinking in idealism and not reality.”

Henderson says her real fear is the $900 billion dollar price tag associated with the President Obama’s health care package, and what that might mean for small businesses expected to help foot the bill.