Small Business Owners Trek to D.C. for Healthcare Showdown (AUDIO)

The Small Business Summit begins on Wednesday.

Courtesy: ysop.org

(PORTLAND, Ore. ONS) - Small business owners in Oregon say they're tired of cutting benefits, raising costs and, in some cases, canceling health insurance for workers because they can't afford it. They're joining others from 20 states this week in Washington, D.C., to share their views with Congress.

Jim Houser will be there. He owns an automotive repair shop in Portland, and says good health insurance helps him keep good employees. He's convinced people are so fed up with the current system that there's hope for reform, and he wants to make sure lawmakers hear from "the little guy."

"My feeling is, if they actually see somebody - not a lobbyist, not a university professor, not somebody from a think tank - but somebody who's actually trying to make a living and keep all the employees healthy, that it can make a difference."

Susie Taylor is co-owner of a software development company in Vancouver, Washington. Over the past five years, she says, they've had to cut back on health insurance coverage and shift more of the cost to workers. Taylor adds that she's never been politically active until now.

"We're a world leader! And we're the only industrialized country that doesn't offer health care to everyone. And our health statistics are way down the list, compared to other countries. It just makes no sense."

This week's events are being organized by the Main Street Alliance, a national group that supports a public insurance option. Critics say government-sponsored insurance would drive private insurers out of business; the Alliance says it would make them more competitive and responsive, and give people a choice of where to get their coverage.

The Small Business Summit begins on Wednesday.

The group's Web site is mainstreetalliance.org.

Special thanks to Oregon News Service
Produced and Reported by Chris Thomas