The United States labor force is built on the shoulders of smallbusinesses. Over one-third of the workforce is employed by a firmwith under 100 employees — whether that be in hospitality, foodservices, or startups. This number represents over 40 millionemployees[1],a number that with the fortune of a thriving economy, highlightedby the recent jobs report, will onlycontinue to grow[2].But the positivity of the jobs report doesn’t seem to be resonatingwith small business owners who are feeling something elseentirely.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses has found thatthe optimism of small and independent businessowners has waned. Their “Small Business OptimismIndex” took into account small business plans to increaseemployment and inventories, as well as their expectations ofpersonal sales and overall economic and credit improvement, all ofwhich declined from December 2015[3].The report points to the largest economic challenges facing smallbusinesses today: balancing affordability with growth.

This balancing act has long been witnessed in the small businesshealth insurance market where consistently the majority of smallbusinesses have not offered health insurance benefits primarily outof fears of affordability. Oddly enough, this reality has notchanged much since the passage of the Affordable Care Act[4].

Many provisions within the health care law incentivize smallbusiness employers to consider offering benefits, but without theemployer mandate impacting small businesses with under 50employees, many continue to forgo the opportunity. In fact, overhalf of all small businesses have continued to not offer healthinsurance[5].These small businesses make up the bulk of the workinguninsured[6]who, in a prosperous economy, are looking for competitivebenefits.

What most of these small business employers do not know,however, are the measures within the Affordable Care Act thatpresent a realistic opportunity to offer competitive benefits. Thisincludes the existence of the Small Business Tax Credit on SmallGroup plans (with eligibility for those with under 25 employeessalaried at $50,000 on average), and the flexibility of smallbusiness owners to send employees to the new individualmarketplaces to enroll in their own plan. Since the average incomeof these small business employees is under 400 percent of theFederal Poverty Level, many will be either eligible for Medicaid orcost reducing government subsidies.

But communicating this to a receptive small business audience ismuch easier said than done. Getting to this level of understandingin a complex market requires expert attention. However, there isone industry that already has a captivated audience, and that’sbrokers.

The vast majority of small businesses already use brokersto guide their health insurance decisions — only brokers arefocusing on the wrong market of small businesses — those of higherincome that continuously offer health insurance. Although thismarket offers a steady and reliable commission, they don’t presentthe same untapped opportunity as the working uninsured. The problemis, brokers currently don’t have the tools to properly reach thismarket segment and anticipate their needs across all ages andincomes.

Without the proper technology to meetthe working uninsured wherever they are, brokers are leftstruggling to be the needed educational resource and activeadvocate for small businesses dangling in the balancing act ofaffordability and growth. Until then, the unmet needs of thesesmall businesses are met by an unanswered market opportunity forthe brokers that are best equipped to tackle one of smallbusinesses largest challenges.

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