Health care reforms opposed by majority of industrial distributors

Sep 10 2009

By a four-to-one margin, industrial distributors are solidly against government being part of any health care reform package, according to a survey conducted by Industrial Distribution magazine (www.Inddist.com). The survey of 634 distributors also shows that 89 percent of the respondents are satisfied with their existing health care.

In addition, the study indicates that 92 percent of the respondents have health care coverage from their companies.

Respondents said that government intervention would prove to be more costly and ultimately have a negative effect on their business operations.

Industrial Distribution’s audience includes distributors who sell MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) supplies and OEM (original equipment manufacturing) products to customers in the industrial and construction sectors. The magazine will be celebrating its 100^th year in business in 2011. It is published by Reed Business Information.

“We were somewhat surprised by the overwhelming negative response to government oversight,” said Jack Keough, Editor of Industrial Distribution. “We never expected the margin of difference to be this strong. And small-business people are extremely opinionated on this issue. We received the 634 responses in less than two hours. Hundreds more were sent in after the tabulations were done.”

Keough also said the comments from readers clearly indicated that industrial distributors--mostly small businesses with sales of less than $10 million--have little faith in government to undertake such a program.

“Many of them noted the myriad problems the government has in overseeing Social Security, the economic stimulus package, Medicare, Medicaid, and the U.S. Post Office,” he said.