Health Insurance and the Small Business

(Editor's Note: Ed Sachs has stepped away from writing the Sachs Report, but for the next couple of weeks, we're going to be running "best of" editions in this space; a new newsletter will be launching soon in its place. In this column, from last fall, Ed talks about employers and health insurance:)

As hard as it may be for many of you to believe, I have not yet reached the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare. A lot of that has to do with genetics and how youthful I still appear. After all, I was carded to buy an adult beverage as recently as 48 years ago.

The reason I bring this to your attention is that my family and I have just concluded the horrifying experience of finding health insurance coverage, at least until I am able to put my medical needs in the hands of the government. I now have even greater respect for the decision of my previous employer aggreeing to pay for my family's health coverage until just last month.