Helping Small Businesses Compare Health Insurance Plans

Statement

A greatly expanded website to give small business owners an unprecedented detailed review of their health insurance plan choices was announced this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This powerful new tool allows small business owners to compare the benefits and costs of health plans and choose those that are best for their employees. For the first time ever, it will allow small businesses to research locally available products in an unbiased manner and foster a more transparent and competitive marketplace.

In addition to the market being difficult to analyze, small businesses do not fare as well as large employers when negotiating health care prices -- on average small businesses spend 18 percent more for the same health insurance coverage. This new tool brings needed transparency to the marketplace, which will help ensure insurance companies will compete for business on the basis of price and quality. The tool is located on www.HealthCare.gov and is the first website of its kind to bring information and links to health insurance plans to one place, and to make it easy for consumers to learn about and compare their insurance options

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