Small businesses employ just over half of all Americans. Yet, people who own or work for small businesses find it harder to afford health insurance than those working in large corporations. Typically, they do not employ a full-time benefits manager to manage health coverage, they operate on tighter profit margins, and they may find their rates significantly affected when an employee or dependent has a major illness.

Small businesses employing fewer than 25 workers have the highest rates of uninsurance (31%) and constitute the largest percentage of uninsured workers (36%). More than half the uninsured are either self-employed or work in businesses with fewer than 25 employees. If you include the spouse and dependents for this group, a significant number of the uninsured (60%) are workers or dependents of workers in small businesses.

Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of data from March 2005 Current Population Survey

Note: Data does not total 100% due to rounding

Find out what Congress is considering to help make health insurance more affordable for small businesses.

60% of the uninsured are workers or dependents of workers for small businesses.