5 Leprosy is now called Hansen's Disease. 6 Electronic mail message and telephone interview with Dr. Ronald J. Dutton, Office of Border Health, Texas Department of Health, Austin, Texas, April 23, 1998. 12 Interview with Deliana Garcia, Migrant Clinicians Network, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, June 4, 1998. The Urban Institute cites a cut-off of 100 employees, while the Comptroller analysis used 75 because it was a better fit with Texas employment statistics.
Small firms are less likely than larger firms to offer health coverage for several reasons.
For instance, because they have a smaller pool of people to insure, they may get less favorable rates than larger groups. Furthermore, small employers typically have fewer administrative staff, and therefore are less able to handle plan administration, which can be very time-consuming. Finally, because the business has a smaller pool, one employee or dependent with a serious health problem may be enough to deter insurance companies from covering the business at all, because the employees will be seen as too risky a group. This is partly because they are more likely to work for small employers. Low-wage workers also are less likely to be able to afford insurance on their own.