Purchasing Health Insurance

• 1Which BEST describes your current business situation? You:?
• 1aDid you start offering employee health insurance in the last three years OR did you offer it before then?
• 1bThough you don't offer it now, did you offer employee health insurance at any time in the last three years?
• 2Regardless of whether you purchased it or not, did you or someone on your behalf shop for employee health insurance, either for a new or better plan, at any time in the last three years?
• 2aSince you have employee health insurance, but didn’t shop for any in the last three years, did you:?
• 3Think of the last time you shopped for employee health insurance. Who did the shopping?
• 3aIn hours, about how much time did you spend shopping? For example, how many hours did you spend learning about different plans, analyzing options, making inquiries, determining employee needs, etc.? An estimate is fine.
• 4What was the primary reason you or your business shopped? Were you or your business looking for a:?
• 5Think of the last time you or your business shopped for employee health insurance. Did you or your business explore options for purchasing employee health insurance on the Internet?
• 6The last time you or your business shopped, did you or your business explore options directly with a network of health care providers, such as an HMO?
• 7The last time you or your business shopped, did you or your business explore options in a government-organized or sponsored small-business health insurance program?
• 7aWhy didn’t you consider a government organized or sponsored small-business health insurance program? Was it because you:?
• 8The last time you or your business shopped, did you or your business explore options through a business trade organization or association?
• 9The last time you (purchased/shopped) for health insurance did you discuss options with an insurance agent or broker?
• 9aWith about how many DIFFERENT agents or brokers did you discuss your employee health insurance options?
• 10Which best describes what happened when you discussed purchasing employee health insurance with the agent or broker?
• 11Did the agent or broker thoroughly explain Health Savings Accounts or HSAs as a health insurance option?
• 11aDid you bring up the subject of Health Savings Accounts or did your agent or broker?
• 12As you consider what to do about employee health insurance, did you talk to your employees about a health plan, the financial trade-offs involved, or other relevant health insurance issues?
• 12aWhat was your general sense of what your employees most wanted in health insurance? Was their priority:?
• 12bWhat was the most important reason you didn’t ask?
• 13Did you eventually purchase your employee health insurance:?
• 13aWas the government directly or indirectly involved in your purchase, such as sponsoring or organizing the plan, matching you with an insurer, etc.?
• 14Excluding health insurance and premium reimbursements, do you provide full-time employees any type of health benefit, such as reimbursement for certain health care expenses, membership in health clubs, paid screening for specific health conditions, or things of that nature?
• 14a(health benefit) What do you offer?
• 15Do you spend 7.5 percent or more of your payroll on employee health, counting any health insurance you offer or other health-related employee benefits you provide?
• 15aDo you spend 15 percent or more of your payroll on employee health, counting any health insurance you offer or other health-related employee benefits you provide?
• 16Do you have ONLY part-time employees?
• 17If such a proposal became law, what would be your first step to comply with it? Would you:?
• 18Would you take a second step to help you comply? Would you:?
• 19If the law required you to either purchase health insurance and pay 60 percent of the premium for your full-time employees OR pay an additional 7.5 percent tax on payroll, which would you choose?

Volume 7, Issue 3, 2007
ISSN 1534-8326

William J. Dennis, Jr.
NFIB Research Foundation