PORTLAND — A dozen local business owners traveled to Washington, D.C.,
this week to discuss health care reform and advocate for a public option provision in the legislation being considered by Congress.

Dean Powers, director of the Maine Small Business Coalition, said the
group was expected to meet with Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administration
Administrator Karen Mills, who will hold a briefing with them and other
business owners from around the country on the impact of health care
reform. They also had a meeting scheduled with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins,
R-Maine, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud,
D-Maine.

Powers said the business owners are traveling together as part of the
coalition because they feel alienated and not represented by chambers
of commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business.

"We feel those organizations are not speaking to the business owners of
Maine, and they have a significant voice," he said. "We are going to
Washington to support a strong public plan option and want the voice
for the small business owners of Maine to be heard."

One of those voices is George Rubino of Pownal, a world renown maker of custom made bows for string
instruments. He said as the sole owner of Rubino Bows, the cost of health care, as it is structured now, is too expensive. As a small business owner with no "power in numbers," he said, he
doesn't have access to the high-volume discounts that other businesses
can receive.

Another member of the group, Jim Amaral, owner of Borealis Bread in Portland,
Wells and Waldoboro, said he has about 65 employees. During the past 16
years he has been in business, it has become more and more difficult to
keep up with health care costs, he said.

"Health care costs have been killing us, especially over the past five years," Amaral said.

He said his employees used to pay about $10 a week in health care
costs, but now the cost has risen to more than $40 a week. He said he
used to be able to afford to pay 70 percent of his employees'
health-care costs and 30 percent for his employees' family care. Now,
he cannot afford to cover the cost of family care, and can only pay 50
percent of the employee health-care costs.

"I feel we can make a significant difference and am happy we have the
opportunity to voice our opinion," he said. "They need to consider the
public option and need to hear from businesses that are struggling to
keep up with health care costs."