Ah the good ole days, when organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce could get away with advocating policies that actually hurt small business owners. The times, they are a changin'.

The issue of health care reform is poised to drive a wedge in the business community, according to a new report released by the Tennessee Small Business Coalition. "American Health Care Reform: Serious Business for Tennessee's Small Business", is the result of an intensive, scientific study done by Vanderbilt University's Peabody College that finds that a solid majority of small business owners across Tennessee support the types of reform in our nation's health care system that President Obama and progressives are proposing.

"This study provides new insight into the opinions of small business owners across Tennessee and shows their preferences for health care reform issues," says Craig Anne Heflinger, professor of human and organizational development at Vanderbilt and a co-author of the report.

• 79% report they are "really struggling" to afford the cost of health coverage.

• 61% believe that reforming health care now is a step to getting the economy back on track

• 73% report everyone should have a choice between quality, affordable public and private plans

• 88% report that it will be a significant challenge in the future to offer health insurance coverage to employees

• 70% want more public oversight of private insurers

• 61% agree that the government should play a stronger role in guaranteeing access to quality, affordable health care.

Chris Link, who co-owns Imagination Branding in Nashville, was recently mentioned by President Obama in a speech to the American Medical Association and is someone who has made the connection about how "pro-business" special interest groups like the U.S. Chamber are not speaking for him. "I notice that many of these [attacks on health care reform] are coming from special interest groups who are looking out for big corporations and insurance companies who are at the root of the problem," Link says. "Over and over again, it seems like big business always likes to hide behind small business owners to get what they want, even when it hurts us. The Vanderbilt report proves that's the case when it comes to health care and I hope small business owners will start speaking up for themselves".

Link has signed on to the Change That Works campaign's Small Business Committee, which is committed to help get small business owners' viewpoints on progressive health care reform out to the public.
Tennessee small business owners can sign on to the pledge here.

After years of bogus solutions posed by "pro-business" politicians, small business owners are now learning that token gestures like tax credits that leave them at the mercy of the current broken system aren't a real solution. Many small business owners believe that real reform will require a stronger role for government in the health care system, including creating a quality public health insurance plan option. This is the plan that President Barack Obama campaigned on, one that the American people support, and a plan which small businesses across Tennessee are accepting of as well, as evidenced by the Vanderbilt report.

It's small businesses that are going to pick the country up out of this recession, but to make that possible, we need to fix America's health care system so we can keep offering critical jobs and important services to our communities.