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As Senate Finance Committee Chairman Introduces Principles for Drug Pricing Reform, Small Business Survey Shows Healthcare Costs Stifle Growth

Recent national survey of small businesses in the Small Business for America’s Future network shows rising costs of healthcare and prescription drugs are major concern for small businesses and are causing them to raise prices and delay growth

Washington, D.C., June 22, 2021—As Senate Finance Committee Chairman. Ron Wyden introduced principles for drug pricing reform today, a recent national survey of small business owners shows rising healthcare costs are stifling their growth and leading to higher prices. 

Respondents to the survey of 1,052 small business owners in the Small Business for America’s Future network say the prescription drug market is broken and that this is an urgent issue that small business owners want Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration to address.

“Prescription drug prices and other factors are driving up the cost of healthcare coverage, which is a major challenge for Main Street small businesses. It’s affecting their growth and hiring decisions at the worst possible time,” said Renee Johnson, Senior Advisor to Small Business for America’s Future. “Survey after survey shows this is a top issue for small business owners and they want leaders to act to bring costs down. If we want a robust recovery, we must start by bringing down drug prices.”

Specifically, the survey results show:

• 89% of small businesses surveyed say the costs of prescription drugs are too high and 63% have an unfavorable view of pharmaceutical companies
• 75% of small business owners providing health coverage to employees say their healthcare costs have increased over the last four years and 48% have seen significant increases of 7% or more
• Nearly one in three small business owners providing health coverage to employees have considered dropping it—the vast majority (78%) because healthcare costs are high
• 66% say the current prescription drug market is not working and is in need of a major overhaul
• 87% of small business owners believe is it important that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress take action to lower prescription drugs costs
• 55% of small businesses providing coverage to employees say the rising costs of healthcare have delayed growth opportunities for their business
• 40% of small businesses providing healthcare coverage to employees have increased the costs of goods and services as a result of rising healthcare costs
• More than a third of small businesses providing healthcare coverage to employees have held off on hiring a new employee as a result of their rising healthcare costs

The survey shows that small business owners support a broad number of measures to lower the costs of prescription drugs. Findings include:

• More respondents (a 42% plurality) are concerned that the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress will not go far enough in acting to bring down prescription drug costs than the number (27%) who were concerned they would go too far
• 82% say it’s time for the government to limit unjustified price increases to no more than inflation, and 79% say lower drug prices will not hurt industry's ability to develop new treatments and cures 
• 89% support capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for seniors enrolled in Medicare
• 85% support adopting policies that eliminate anti-competitive behaviors and patent abuses that extend brand drug monopolies that block price competition 
• 85% support allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies on drug prices for seniors and people in private insurance

“Small Business for America’s Future supports the principles that Sen. Wyden introduced today, but small business owners need Congress to translate them into concrete policies that lead to meaningful relief from drug prices,” Johnson said.

View the full survey report here. 

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About Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.