National Federation of Independent Businesses
The Voice of Small Business |
Plan StatusSolutions Start Here, NFIB’s reform campaign, is under way and has sought pledges from presidential candidates.Number of People CoveredAll Americans.
Estimated CostNot addressed.
Payment Scheme NFIB emphasizes the role of the private sector and calls for affordability and efficiency among its principles. |
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Plan in Brief
- NFIB represents 16 million small and independent businesses; with 350,000 members, it is the nation’s largest small business lobbying group.
- Solutions Start Here is based on NFIB’s platform, Small Business Principles for Healthcare Reform. The ten principles are universal, private, affordable, unbiased, competitive, portable, transparent, efficient, evidence-based, and realistic.
- NFIB supports universal health care.
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Impact on Federal Government
- While NFIB acknowledges the need for a government safety net for those who can’t afford health care coverage, it stresses that government involvement should be minimal and that private providers should be the real basis of the health care system.
- NFIB calls on policymakers to pursue legislation that will encourage competitiveness.
Impact on States
Impact on Insurers
- NFIB believes health care insurance purchasers should have many options to choose from.
- NFIB supports the ability of health care purchasers to pool their resources and to purchase across state lines.
Impact on Providers
- NFIB is critical of medical malpractice settlements that “penalize good doctors when their patients happen to experience bad outcomes.”
- NFIB believes individuals should have a broad choice of providers.
Impact on Employers
- NFIB is opposed to an employer mandate and to pay-or-play taxes.
- NFIB advocates for a change in tax law that will give all insurance purchasers—large employers, small employers, individuals—an equal playing field in terms of tax deductions. NFIB reports that employees in the smallest businesses pay premiums that are 18% higher than those paid by employees in the largest businesses.
Impact on Individuals
- NFIB supports universal health care.
- NFIB advocates that individuals purchasing health care coverage should have the same tax deductions now available to employers providing coverage to employees.
- NFIB believes health insurance should be portable—that individuals should be able to maintain their coverage if they leave a particular job.
Proponents/Opponents
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Proponents agree with NFIB’s opposition to mandates, particularly an employer mandate, on the grounds that it is simply unaffordable for small employers. An employer mandate would, they say, lead to closing of businesses, offshoring of jobs, and a slowdown in entrepreneurship and innovation.
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Whereas NFIB advocates a broad choice of private insurance options purchased via employer pools or individually, the opposite end of the spectrum is the single-payer system. Those who advocate a single-payer system are critical of the private insurance industry, attributing escalating health care costs to its bureaucracy and profit-driven nature.
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Key Targets for InvestmentHealth Savings Accounts.
Health IT.
Notable Feature
- In May 2008, NFIB launched an advertising campaign in Washington to educate legislators on the impact of health insurance costs and legislation on small and independent businesses.
- NFIB’s support of universal health care surprised some, given the organization’s typically conservative stance. However, NFIB believes that the problem of the uninsured hampers the progress of business and entrepreneurship.
- NFIB is well known for its opposition to the Clinton health plan in the 1990s.
- According to NFIB, of the estimated 47 million Americans, 28 million are small business owners or employees (and their dependents).
Experts' Comments“A number of groups--particularly biz groups that historically have not been strongly in favor of universal coverage--seem to be going that direction. There's a much greater inclination to look at broader reforms than in previous debates. "
-- Larry Levitt
vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, in Forbes.com, March 12, 2008
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For Further Information
NFIB: The Voice of Small Business
A Conservative Approach to Universal Health Care
Solutions Start Here: When Healthcare Is Fixed for Small Business, It’s Fixed for America
Listen to a Solutions Start Here Radio Ad
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Interest Groups 
