Kerrigan and Cavazos in Real Clear Health: Policies Must Help Small Businesses Recover, Including Affordable Health Coverage

By SBE Council at 1 February, 2022, 12:49 pm

In a February 1 Op-Ed in Real Clear Health, SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan and United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) president & CEO Ramiro Cavazos lay out the policy priorities of small business owners as they work to survive and recover during this  uncertain pandemic economy.  As they note in the piece:

In this delicate economic environment, Congress should be very cautious about the potential impact of overreaching policies on businesses. A recent survey of small business owners found that 7-in-10 small business owners agree the pandemic has already made things hard enough, and they can’t afford to have government policies that disrupt day-to-day business.

On the issue of health care, Kerrigan and Cavazos remind readers that costs and access still remain a big challenge for small business owners. In fact, according to the SBE Council/USHCC survey they point to in the piece, 8-in-10 of small business owners agree that healthcare reforms “that add new costs for small businesses are high risk and would add another burden to recovering businesses.”

Instead of addressing these concerns, Kerrigan and Cavazos express concern that:

Congress has proposed several misaligned drug pricing policies to give the government more control and power over healthcare spending and decisions, ultimately harming access and eroding quality. Specifically, proposed negotiation policies would significantly undermine biopharmaceutical investment, mimicking Europe’s disastrous government price setting and restrictive regulations. The reason the U.S. leads the world in medical breakthroughs and lifesaving drug innovations is because of our free-market approach and entrepreneurial spirit. 

They argue that Congress has to be smart about the direction of policy and to make sure bills that are being advanced support Main Street businesses, which are the heart and soul of the U.S. economy. After all, they note:

Being “CLOSED” for business is no longer an option.

Read the full Op-ed here.