NC Small Business Owners Feel “Crushed” By Healthcare System

June 30, 2021

DURHAM, N.C. — Small-business owners across the state say the pandemic has highlighted their struggles with the current healthcare system, and many want North Carolina’s elected leaders to make expanding affordable healthcare a top priority.

Jared Burton, owner of J. Lights Market and Café in Durham, N.C., said he provides some form of health insurance for both part- and full-time employees, and confirmed he’s spending around $4,800 per year, per worker on coverage.

“And to be entirely honest, the policies over the last 10 years have gotten worse,” Burton asserted. “The reality is, you spend $4,000, but with the co-pays and coinsurances, my employees are still going to be left with $1,500-$2,000 in costs if they’re just going to the doctor on a regular basis.”

Burton added he supports Medicaid expansion, for which 90% of the cost would be paid by the federal government.

North Carolina is among a small group of states that has continued to…

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