One of our neighboring business owners recently had an emergency appendectomy. Like many small retailers, she didn’t have health insurance, but this surgery wasn’t optional. Her bill came to $27,000, and although the hospital has agreed to reduce the total, she will be paying off the debt for years.

We have banded together to do a fundraiser to help her, with 50% of the proceeds going to her care and 50% to a clinic for the uninsured. It’s been heartwarming to see how generous the retailers and restaurants in our community have been in donating to next Sunday’s event.

 But it really seems wrong that we need to hold silent auctions for appendectomies.  The health care crisis is one that impacts all of us running small businesses. Either we pay huge premiums in order to cover ourselves and our staff members, or we operate without a safety net like our neighbor Barbara. And if we don’t offer health insurance benefits, it is difficult to attract employees.

 We are all hoping that Washington comes up with a viable solution. Meanwhile, make sure that you are doing what you can: live a healthy lifestyle, and look into purchasing catastrophic health insurance if you can’t afford anything more comprehensive. A catastrophic plan has a high deductible, but will kick in if you are hospitalized for something serious.

 You might also see whether your business is eligible to purchase health insurance as part of a group. We belong to an HMO that offers insurance to small businesses through the Chamber of Commerce.  It is expensive, and our part-time employees are not eligible.  We just hope that they don’t fall ill and need care that they cannot afford before we have a system that covers everyone’s health care needs.

 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder