Small Business

BALCONY Access for Small Business Forums

For details on the White Plains Nov. 20, 2009 forum, click here: White Plains

For details on the Rochester Feb. 19, 2010 forum, click here: Rochester

Click here for photos from the Rochester Forum: Rochester Photos

Rochester Forum: Rep. Chris Lee indicates Fed is growing too big, too fast

Tom Gillett, Chris Lee, Lou Gordon

Health Care Panel

By Jim Stinson

A forum on small business became a place to discuss big government and possibly bigger health care plans.

Speaking to the Business and Labor Coalition of New York at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, U.S. Rep. Chris Lee said the federal government is growing too big and expanding its payroll, and that even during the recession Washington, D.C., saw growth in its gross metropolitan product while many other regional economies were contracting.

“The federal government cannot employ all the people in this country,” said Lee, R-Clarence, Erie County, as he ticked off examples of government growth. For that reason, he said, he voted recently against extending the federal debt ceiling by $1.9 trillion.

But not everyone at Friday’s forum agreed that shrinking all government programs would benefit small business.

Some speakers expressed solidarity with President Barack Obama’s plan for health care reform, which seeks to extend insurance coverage to most Americans.

Lee said after his speech that he supports health care reform, and thinks the Democrats and Republicans should pass a bill they can agree on, leaving out parts on which they differ.

Jim Bertolone, Rochester local president of the American Postal Workers Union, noted that health care costs rose through the past decade, from 15 percent of U.S. gross domestic product to 17 percent of GDP.

To combat rising costs, Bertolone suggested applying a program like Medicare to all citizens. He also said that worrying about budget deficits during a time of unprecedented recession was like conserving water during a house fire.

Businesspeople also received advice from banking officials such as Jeffrey Barker, vice president of commercial services at Canandaigua National Bank & Trust.

He advised the approximately 50 people in the audience to maintain good communication with lending officers and not to surprise them by using a line of credit for reasons other than stated on the application.

Many attendees noted the economy, especially credit conditions, was still sour.

“It is a very difficult time for startups,” Barker acknowledged.

Feb 19th Rochester Forum Will Help Small Business Owners Survive the Times

Feb 19th
Rochester Forum Will Help Small Business Owners Survive the Times

Rochester, NY – BALCONY (Business and Labor Coalition of New York) www.balconynewyork.com will host its second Access for Small Business Forum with the goal of helping small business owners in the Rochester area. The forum will feature timely and informative workshop discussions with experts, advocates and government officials on how small businesses can survive during the current, uncertain economic times. There will be a focus on access to health care, technology solutions, and business development and capital. Congressman Chris Lee will be the keynote speaker, with presentations by local business leaders. BALCONY representatives and forum sponsors will be available for interviews.

Participating Sponsors include Excellus, Verizon, Entre Computers, Citizens Bank, Canandaigua Bank, NYS Small Business Development, Pulse Marketing Group, American Cancer Society, the Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, Small Business Administration, NYSUT, the Small Business Majority and the NYS Health Foundation.

Jim Nofziger is Rochester BALCONY Coordinator for the Forum and Tom Gillett of NYSUT is the Rochester BALCONY coordinator.

For more information about the February 19th Forum visit BALCONY web site www.balconynewyork.com

What: BALCONY Access for Small Business Forum
When: February 19, 2010
8 a.m. to Noon
Where: Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
1100 S. Goodman St. Rochester NY

Cost: $25 (optional)

Register by Feb. 16 by calling 212-219-7777, or e-mail: loug@balconynewyork.com

BALCONY report on highly successful Small Business Forum

Small businesses are the cornerstone of the New York State economy,
accounting for 98% of all businesses and employing 52% of the non-farm, private sector workforce.

Even in the best of economic times, New York Small Businesses are facing insurmountable challenges due to excessively high taxes, high regulatory costs, and burdensome processes. And, now those issues have become compounded during this time of recession. Small Businesses need to know where to turn for some answers, which is why BALCONY has taken on this challenge.

Featured Speaker
Adam Bradley
White Plains Mayor-elect and
NYS Assemblyman of the 89th Assembly District

On Friday, November 20, 2009, the Access for Small Business Forum – a four-panel discussion organized by BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York and co-hosted with The Greater New York Chamber of Commerce – addressed these key small business concerns.

ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS

(Chris Levendos, Michael Ridley, Heather O’Donnell,
Chris Zawacki, Ron Koff, Lou Gordon)

ACCESS TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

(Christine Serrano Glassner, William Grinker, Rosemarie Klotz,
Jim Malski, Brian Moran, Barbara Weltman)

ACCESS TO CAPITAL FOR SMALL BUSINESS

(Bruce Ventimiglia, Pravina Raghavan, David J. Conrad,
David Kornfeld, Paul Quintero, Louis Scamardella)

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR SMALL BUSINESS

(Lou Gordon, Troy Oechsner, Ben Geyerhahn, Vince Ashton,
Peter Slocum, Ernie Vitolo)

Read the full report from this BALCONY forum
and watch the presentation videos by clicking here: REPORT

BALCONY ACCESS FOR SMALL BUSINESS FORUM

SET NOVEMBER 20th IN WHITE PLAINS

NEWLY ELECTED WHITE PLAINS MAYOR ADAM BRADLEY

AND NYS SMALL BUSINESS TASK FORCE CHAIR BILL GRINKER

For Immediate Release November 9, 2009

Small Businesses across New York State are facing the most challenging economy in our history as revenues decline, the cost of health care increases, access to capital diminishes, and markets shrink.

BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, with its business partner Verizon, media partner WCBS Newsradio880, health care partner the American Cancer Society, and small business partner The Greater New York Chamber of Commerce together seek to provide valuable solutions for small business at the

BALCONY ACCESS for Small Business Forum

November 20th

beginning at 8 :00 am

at the Crowne Plaza Hotel

66 Hale Avenue

White Plains, NY

“This event will focus on what can be done to help the more than 100,000 New York small businesses survive and prosper during this current economic crisis,” states BALCONY Business Co-Chairman Bruce Ventimiglia, “Small Businesses are the backbone of our state’s economy which employ more than one million people.”

White Plains Mayor Elect Adam Bradley will deliver the keynote address, and Bill Grinker, Chairman of the New York State Small Business Task Force, will provide an update on the major recommendations of the Task Force which are to be released before the end of 2009.

Other featured speakers include: Chris Levendos, Verizon FIOS; Pravina Raghavan, SBA New York District Director; Troy Oeschner, Deputy Superintendent for Health of the New York State Insurance Department; Peter Slocum of the American Cancer Society; Jim Maleski of ActionCOACH of CT; and Rosemarie Klotz of H & R Block.

The forum will feature timely and informative workshop discussions with experts, advocates and governmental officials on how small businesses can survive during the current, uncertain economic times. Specifically we will focus on

• Access to Capital

• Access to Health Care

• Access to Technology

• Access to Business Development

8:30 – 9:20 AM

Technology Challenges Facing Small Business

Chris Levendos, Verizon FIOS

Michael Ridley, NYSTAR

Heather O’Donnell, WCBS Newsradio 880

Chris Zawacki, GreenHouse IT

Ron Koff, Astoria Graphics

9:20 – 9:30 AM

Coffee Break

9:30 – 10:00 AM

Assemblyman –White Plains Mayor Elect Adam Bradley

10:00 – 10:50 AM

Business Development Solutions

William Grinker, NYS Small Business Task Force

Jim Malski, ActionCOACH

Brian Moran, Moran Media

Barbara Weltman, Big Ideas for Small Business

Rosemarie Klotz, H & R Block

10:50 – 11:40 AM

Access to Capital for Small Business

Pravina Raghavan, SBA New York

Bruce Ventimiglia, Saratoga Capital Management

David Kornfeld, Financial Advisor

Paul Quintero, Accion New York

Louis Scarmardella, Small Business Development Center

11:40 – 12:30 PM

Access to Healthcare for Small Business

Troy Oechsner, NYS Dept. of Insurance

Ben Geyerhan, Small Business Majority

Ernie Vitolo, Atlantis Health Plan

Vincent Ashton, HealthPass

Peter Slocum, American Cancer Society

12:30 – 1:00 PM

Closing Networking Reception

To register for the conference contact Allison Hirsch or Christine Serrano Glassner at BALCONY (212) 219-7777

or visit the BALCONY Website www.balconynewyork.com

For More Information contact Balcony Director Lou Gordon (212) 219-7777;  e-mail:   loug@balconynewyork.com

Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care

by Reed Abelson

As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.

Insurance brokers and benefits consultants say their small business clients are seeing premiums go up an average of about 15 percent for the coming year — double the rate of last year’s increases. That would mean an annual premium that was $4,500 per employee in 2008 and $4,800 this year would rise to $5,500 in 2010.

The higher premiums at least partly reflect the inexorable rise of medical costs, which is forcing Medicare to raise premiums, too. Health insurance bills are also rising for big employers, but because they have more negotiating clout, their increases are generally not as steep.

Higher medical costs aside, some experts say they think the insurance industry, under pressure from Wall Street, is raising premiums to get ahead of any legislative changes that might reduce their profits.

The increases come at a politically fraught time for the insurers, as they try to fight off the creation of a government-run competitor and as they push their case that they have a central role to play in controlling the nation’s health care costs.

President Obama, in his Saturday radio address, said the Democrats’ health insurance overhaul would help small businesses and stimulate the economy by providing relief from “the crushing costs of health care — costs that have forced too many small businesses to cut benefits, shed jobs, or shut their doors for good.”

The insurance industry has already been under sharp attack by Democratic lawmakers who favor creating a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. Without that competition, proponents say, insurers will continue to price coverage beyond the reach of many Americans.

Small businesses, which employ about 40 percent of the private labor force, are a big constituency for both parties.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, said the sharp rise in premiums for small businesses offered the latest evidence that Congress must act swiftly on health care legislation.

“This underlines the urgent need for health insurance reform, including a public option,” she said in an interview. “We need to have competition for the insurance companies to keep premiums down.”

Insurers say there is no need for a government-run insurance plan and argue that their health plans are already responsible for many of the initiatives, like programs to coordinate care for chronic conditions, that ultimately lower costs.

Insurers’ “profits are not responsible for increased health care costs,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry’s trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Like the insurers, Republican lawmakers, who portray themselves as champions of small business, argue that the proposed legislation would raise premiums across the board because sick people would be more likely to enroll than healthy people.

They also say the taxes and other ways of paying for the program would be passed on to employers in higher premiums, only making matters worse for small businesses.

The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said in a response to the president’s radio address, “We can’t support a bill that will raise premiums.” The big insurance companies declined to comment.

With negotiations over next year’s premiums still under way, data on rate increases are mostly anecdotal. Formal surveys have not yet been completed by the health benefits consultants who track the figures. And in some parts of the country, experts say rates are not overly high.

But benefits consultants say there is no doubt that premiums are soaring for many small businesses. Edward Kaplan, a consultant with the Segal Company, said his clients were seeing renewals for coverage at prices 15 to 23 percent higher this year. Last year, he said, they typically faced increases of 7 to 12 percent.

The brokers and consultants say the price jumps seem hard to justify. “Frankly, I’m mystified by the size of the increases,” said one broker, Charles J. Newman, who works with small employers in the New York area.

Some say the threat of an overhaul may be at least part of the reason. Joshua Miley, a consultant with HighRoads, which analyzes benefit information for employers, said the “undercurrent of health reform is driving part of the renewal increases.”

HighRoads projects that premiums will rise 14.4 percent for an individual in a health maintenance organization plan at a typical small employer.

There is no question that insurers are under pressure from Wall Street. In recent years, insurers were often not quick enough to raise their premiums well above the rising cost of medical care.

But they have heard from angry investors disappointed by the companies’ earnings.

“There’s no one out there who hasn’t had to do a mea culpa to Wall Street,” said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst for Pali Capital who follows the companies. While the industry is particularly vulnerable now in Washington, she said, “it seems like they’re more afraid of Wall Street.”

Michael A. Turpin, a former senior executive for UnitedHealth, the insurer, and now a top official at USI Holdings, an insurance brokerage firm, said insurers were now “under so much pressure to post earnings, they’re going to make hay while the sun is shining.”

Along with many Republican lawmakers, the insurers say the current Congressional proposals do too little to address the underlying reasons for high premiums — the unabated rise in medical costs and effects of a weak economy. Hospitals, for example, have been treating greater numbers of people who have lost their jobs and their insurance, and they are passing along some of those costs by charging higher prices to private insurers.

The industry also points to low government payments to hospitals and doctors, which insurers say result in higher prices for employer-based coverage to make up for the shortfall.

In an analysis released two weeks ago by America’s Health Insurance Plans, insurers said premiums would rise even faster under the legislation under study in Congress — an assessment fiercely disputed by Democratic Congressional leaders and some health care economists but shared by many Republicans.

Small businesses, besides having less negotiating leverage than big employers, tend to pay more for the same coverage because they cannot spread the cost of expensive medical conditions or hospitalizations over large numbers of workers. Premiums can be especially high if they have sick or older workers.

Owners of small companies say the lack of options is why they have been paying increasingly higher premiums for less and less coverage — this year perhaps more than ever.

In August, when Walter Rowen, who owns Susquehanna Glass in Columbia, Pa., sought to renew his company’s coverage for two dozen employees, he said his insurer demanded a 160 percent rate increase. Mr. Rowen said he was told his work force was “getting too old and very expensive.”

Mr. Rowen said his insurance broker found that any other health plan was likely to charge 30 to 50 percent more than he paid last year. He chose a less generous plan from a different carrier for 44 percent more.

A GROWING BURDEN