Hispanic Chamber discussing member health care

Identifying Health Care Solutions for Hispanic Businesses
PRESS RELEASE

The choices for a business owner can be painful. Either businesses provide employer-sponsored health care and bleed the company's profit margins or require those employees to fend for themselves. Either way, somebody pays. And both scenarios can hurt a business' bottom line. So how can the self-employed entrepreneur reconcile those same questions over health insurance for his or her own family when the financial barriers can be prohibitively high?

While every small business and self-employed professional in America is battling with these life-or-death questions-which resound ever more loudly in this tempestuous economic climate-Hispanics often feel the pinch most acutely. In hopes of identifying solutions and options, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is conducting a panel discussion during the 19th Annual Legislative Conference scheduled for March 9 and 10, 2009. The panel will be composed of: Mayra Alvarez, Health Care Policy Advisor; Senator Richard Durbin (IL); Ana Harvey President, Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Tom Dawson Health Care Counsel, Committee on Small Business, U.S. House of Representatives; Stan Dorn, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute; Stuart Butler, Vice President of Domestic and Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation; Sylvia Trujillo, Senior Legislative Counsel, American Medical Association

Issue
Employer-sponsored health insurance costs for small and Hispanic-owned companies and for the self-employed continue to surge. The issue intensifies when considering the impact on families. Already nearly one in three Hispanics has to manage without health insurance, and about one in four Hispanic children lacks coverage, even among those with employed parents.

Culprits for this disparity range from higher administrative costs to comparatively reduced purchasing power for small businesses and the self-employed. A significant long-term challenge for the Obama Administration, Congress, and Hispanic business owners will be to adequately balance free-market solutions with government relief for struggling entrepreneurs. An expert panel will provide insights and potential solutions through a discussion on the merits and viability of President Obama's proposed health care plan, plus issues like cost containment via enhanced technological systems, and what it all means for Hispanic businesses and families.

The U.S. HCC invites you to be a part of this discussion scheduled for Tuesday March 10, 2009, at 4:15 p.m., at the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington D.C. For more information, visit the USHCC's 19th Annual Legislative Conference website at www.ushcclegislative.com.