Small Payroll, but Big Woes on Insurance (NY Times)

From the New York Times:

"BELLAIRE, Tex. — When the bottom fell out of the automotive market last year, Amberly Allen’s fast-growing direct-mail firm hit a wall in a hurry.

As orders from car dealerships fell by half, Ms. Allen deferred plans to hire more sales representatives. She put off buying the building she now leases in this Houston suburb. And in November, both she and her husband, one of her four employees, stopped drawing salaries. Still that may not be enough to keep the four-year-old company afloat. Determined not to lay off any of her tight-knit band of workers, Ms. Allen is now agonizing over an equally unappealing option: whether to terminate the health benefits she provides for her employees and herself."

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/03insure.html?hp