Small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the US are facing impossible choices because of the skyrocketing costs of health insurance premiums, and, in many cases, the lack of access to coverage. Here are some of their stories.
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AdvancingWellness | Watertown, Massachusetts
Wellness Program Promoter Thinks
Healthcare Reform Will Work Out
Mari Ryan
AdvancingWellness
Watertown, Massachusetts
Founded in 2006
Number of employees: 6
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” might seem cliché to some, but to Mari Ryan it’s gospel. Her company delivers workplace wellness programs that empower healthier lifestyles, which translates into happier, more productive employees. Higher productivity means less sick days and employee turnover, which in turn boosts businesses’ profits and competitiveness.
Mari said, “I’m in the business of workplace health promotion. We help small businesses utilize health programs that work, and these programs can help them grow and add more jobs to stimulate the economy.”
Mari provides insurance to those of her employees who choose to take it and pays about $360 a month per person. This is a cost she closely manages. She believes premiums will drop once the exchanges are set up in 2014, but that’s not the only thing that excites Mari about the Affordable Care Act.
“Healthcare reform definitely affects my business because it promotes wellness programs, something we sell to make a living,” she said. “Small business wellness programs are an untapped market, because traditionally wellness programs are mainly purchased by big businesses.” The Affordable Care Act includes small business wellness grants that will provide funds to small businesses that implement comprehensive wellness programs.
AdvancingWellness is developing programs for small businesses now and hopes to save cash and make even more money through increased demand for the product she sells.
