SECTION2. HEALTHBENEFITSOFFERRATES FIRMSNOTOFFERINGHEALTHBENEFITS • Thesurveyasksfirmsthatdonotofferhealthbenefitsiftheyhaveofferedinsuranceorshoppedforinsuranceinthe recentpast,andabouttheirmostimportantreasonsfornotofferingcoverage. Becausesuchasmallpercentageoflarge firmsreportnotofferinghealthbenefits,wepresentresponsesforsmallnon-offeringfirmsonly. – Thecostofhealthinsuranceremainstheprimaryreasoncitedbyfirmsfornotofferinghealthbenefits. Among smallfirmsnotofferinghealthbenefits,44%citehighcostas“themostimportantreason”fornotdoingso, followedby“thefirmistoosmall”(17%)[Figure2.22]. Relativelyfewsmallfirmsindicatethattheydonotoffer becausetheybelievethatemployeeswillgetabetterdealonthehealthinsuranceexchanges(2%). • Manysmallnon-offeringfirmshaveeitherofferedhealthinsuranceinthepastfiveyears,orhaveshoppedforhealth insuranceinthepastyear. Twentypercentofsmallnon-offeringfirmshaveofferedhealthbenefitsinthepastfiveyears, and13%haveshoppedforcoverageinthepastyear[Figure2.23]. The20%ofsmallnon-offeringfirmsthathaveoffered The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 51