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| Small Business Spotlight: Coalitions from Maine to Washington Take a Stand on Health Care |
On
January 15 and 16, small business coalitions in nine states around the
country gathered to release the new Taking the Pulse of Main Street
report, including Maine, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Idaho,
Montana, Oregon and Washington. Here, we get reports from Iowa, Maine
and Montana.
Iowa:
The
Iowa Main Street Alliance held a press conference on January 15th at
the State Capitol in Des Moines to release the report. State
Senator Jack Hatch, (a small business owner himself and member of the
Alliance) spoke at the event, as did another local Alliance business
owner. Still other business owners, though they couldn’t get away
from work to attend the event, stood ready to respond to inquiries from
the media.
Bill Wheeler, owner of Hiland Park Hardware in Des
Moines, was quoted in a Des Moines Business Record story and his
comments neatly capture the sentiments of many Iowa small business
owners: “As a small business person, I'm willing to contribute for
health care that puts service and value ahead of insurance industry
profits,” said Wheeler. “I believe we need a quality public option so
we can’t be held hostage by the industry any more.”
Links to Iowa press coverage:
Des Moines Business Record
Radio Iowa transcript
Maine:
The Maine Small Business Coalition held its release event for the Taking the Pulse of Main Street
report on January 16th at the Capitol Building in Augusta. Members
traveled from Bangor, Portland, Lewiston and beyond to attend the
event. Two small business leaders from the Coalition shared their
stories at the event: David White, owner of Imported Car Services in
Bar Harbor, and Cheryl Ostrow, owner of Mallards' Crossing in Bangor.
David made an impassioned case for health care, given that
his business had suffered so much from rising premiums that he
ultimately had to drop coverage. Sheryl portrayed her frustrations
dealing with insurance companies that often deny coverage and take too
long to respond to claims. Nicole Witherbee from the Maine Center for
Economic Policy also spoke at the event, addressing the link between
fixing health care for small businesses and getting the economy back on
track.
Montana:
The
Montana Main Street Alliance also hit the ground running with the new
report. The first line in a story printed in the Bozeman Daily
Chronicle hit all the key points: “Small business owners are fed up
with being at the mercy of health insurance corporations, strongly
support the creation of a quality public insurance alternative and are
willing to contribute to it, according to a survey released this past
week by the Montana Main Street Alliance.”
Matt Hisel,
Co-Director of Home Resource, a recycled building materials business
based in Missoula, told a story common to many Montana small business
owners: “We started with a seemingly decent health plan,” Hisel said.
“Then the insurance company hit us with a 39 percent increase after
just one year. We’ve been forced to switch to another, and then another
and another plan.”
Meanwhile, others pointed out the importance
of taking on health care reform in conjunction with economic
stimulus. Said Jennifer Rockne, Director of the Bozeman-based
American Independent Business Alliance, “To hasten economic recovery,
we should allow entrepreneurs to focus on operating their business and
sustaining jobs, rather than draining their time and energy dealing
with insurance companies.”
Links to Montana press coverage:
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Missoulian
Queen City News
New West
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