U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills today released a new report, Insurance at Risk: Small Business Employees Risk Losing Coverage. The report examines the health care status quo that has left employees at risk of losing their insurance and underscores the financial difficulties small businesses face when providing health insurance to their employees. The complete report is available now at www.HealthReform.gov

"The cost of health insurance is the number one concern of small business owners. On average, small businesses pay 18 percent more than big businesses for the same health insurance policy. This has left small business owners in an untenable situation, having to choose between their employees, who are often like family to them, and the bottom line," Mills said. "Health care reform will provide small business owners with greater access to the affordable, quality coverage they want and need for themselves and their employees."

According to the report:

• Employees of small business are 50 percent more likely to lose coverage as workers at large businesses.
• Premiums for employer-based health insurance have more than doubled since 2000, rising three times faster than wages. As a result, more small firms are dropping coverage.
• On average, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large firms for the same health insurance policy.