Health insurance part of "vicious circle" stifling small business growth

David Robinson

Reporter- Albany Business Review

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Dan Frament worked at Walgreens for seven years before starting a small business with his wife, Melissa, in 2012.

After they opened Muddaddy Flats, a quesadilla shop in downtown Troy, New York, Dan Frament had a checklist -- from buying kitchen equipment on Craigslist to hiring three workers.

Shopping for health insurance wasn't even an option.

"I can't afford health insurance for myself and my family, much less get insurance for my employees," he said. "There is just no way to make that work."

Still, state and federal regulators say next year will be different. They are promoting insurance for small business on the Affordable Care Act online marketplaces, called exchanges, which are kicking off 2015 open enrollment Saturday.

Dan Frament's experience is just one illustration of a bigger story about the ongoing push to reduce the cost of health insurance, both for individuals and business.

When he worked as a store manager at Walgreens, Frament relied on the pharmacy chain's benefit package to cover his family. But employees still shared in the rising health insurance cost.

"It was bad enough when I worked for a corporate entity," he said.

After entering the risky world of small business ownership at age 49, Frament has turned to government programs to cover his family.

He and his wife are eligible for Medicaid, a health care program primarily for low-income people that was expanded into the lower-middleclass under the Affordable Care Act, something Frament says benefited his family.

Their two children at home, age 16 and 18, are covered under Child Health Plus, an affiliated program providing government-subsidized insurance. They also have an adult child covered independently.

Robinson covers breaking news and health care.