The Healthcare Dilemma: Protect Employees? Or the Business?

This week, in Episode 273, David C. Barnett, Paul Downs, and Sarah Segal tackle health insurance, one of the least enjoyable issues business owners confront. It’s renewal season, and the three owners are seeing different systems, different pressures, but similar frustrations. Paul tells us he’s facing the largest premium increases he’s seen since the Affordable Care Act—double-digit hikes that will cost him an extra $15,000 to $25,000 next year. Sarah hasn’t received her numbers yet, but she’s preparing for the worst. And David gives us a cross-border view from Canada, where universal coverage eliminates the pricing drama but introduces its own set of complications. It’s a candid conversation about what’s responsible, what’s sustainable, and what business owners are supposed to do when the numbers don’t leave good options. Plus: We also talk about what it takes to get a business ready to be sold. While BizBuySell recently reported that more owners are looking to get out—even if it means dropping their asking price—that’s not exactly what David is seeing in the marketplace. “The truth is that small businesses sell for relatively low multiples of cash flow,” he says. “And so, the real benefit is not actually in the exit. It's in the owning.”