October 15, 2009 - The Senate Finance Committee may have passed a controversial decision this week, but the absence of the highly touted public option has many observers shaking their heads - including a group of employers looking to provide small business insurance.

A national association of small business owners calling themselves the Main Street Alliance has been staging a series of rallies across the country in an effort to entice Democrat and Republican leadership to pursue the public insurance option while promoting reasonable employer contributions to healthcare costs, as opposed to the "free-rider" proposal, according to their website.

The Alliance argues that rising premiums have driven small business insurance costs too high for an individual institution to shoulder alone. In a survey conducted by the MSA of the proprietors of small businesses, they found that 54 percent of respondents switched to insurance providers with higher out-of-pocket costs, 35 percent began offering fewer services, and 12 percent dropped coverage all together.

"Small businesses need reform, it's got to be comprehensive and it's got to include a real public health insurance option - not co-ops or triggers," small business owner and MSA member Kelly Conklin tells the alliance's website. "As far as we're concerned, the public option is not optional - it's an essential element of real reform."

Yet small business owners, like the country at large, are also seemingly divided on health care reform.

A new study from HR firm, TriNet, suggests that business owners may be wary of the new costs and increased intricacy that comes with reform.

The survey, conducted among 200 small businesses across the country, found that 71 percent of business owners believe that reform will bring added cost and 56 percent say added confusion. While more than 90 percent of respondents wanted to be able to choose their own insurance plans, only 30 percent believed the government should share in the expense, with only 22 percent favoring a public option.

"Health care is already a significant expense for small business owners," declares Burton M. Golfdield, CEO of TriNet. "Entrepreneurs want choices when it comes to health care programs, but their success will be hampered if reform results in annual double-digit cost increases and administrative nightmares that divert their focus from growth and revenue."

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Small Business Insurance news provided by Healthcare.com