Host: What if an employer doesn't offer health insurance?

Bob Hurley: Today, it's very common for small business owners not to offer health insurance to their employees. The reason that many small businesses are not doing so anymore is simply they can't afford it. When we talk to small business owners they say, "Health insurance is too complicated to meet everyone's needs in their small business because the owner may have needs that are different than their employee's needs. It's not affordable," in some cases they feel. Then finally, it's not predictable. Small business owner like to be able to predict how they are going to do this year and next year maybe even the year after and many of them express to us that they don't get into offering a health insurance because they don't want to get in the unpredictable nature of health insurance premiums in the future and so what many of them will do will simply pay you more in your salary and say, "Go take care of your own health insurance.

" So many of the young invincibles, these folks these young adults that are in their 20's are often confronted with the fact that they did get a job, but they got a job with a small business owner who doesn't offer health insurance.

So I encourage them to definitely if that employer is providing them a little bit extra in their salary in order for them to be able to go out and get their health insurance coverage I will encourage them to do so and go out and get coverage on their own and they can shop on the internet for coverage. They can come to our website and compare health insurance plans for some of the leading health insurance companies. They can actually buy it right online. So I think the key message for the young invincibles is if you are working for a small business employer that doesn't offer coverage, you are not alone. Many are not offering coverage anymore and they are really expecting more of us to go often and get our own health insurance coverage on our own.