Providing Health Insurance to Small-Businesses Through a Subsidy Demonstration Program

Growing numbers of working Americans are uninsured. Rising insurance premiums continue to limit the ability of employers to provide health coverage. We evaluated a pilot program designed to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses, and surveyed employers to ascertain whether they found the subsidy program beneficial–especially in terms of attracting and retaining employees. Ninety-seven employers (66%) enrolled in the subsidy program responded. For most employers (82%) this was their first experience providing health insurance. Satisfaction with the program was strong (83%), and most agreed that providing health insurance had a positive effect on employee attitude and retention.