[March 08, 2017]

New Report From Thumbtack Finds Majority of Small Business Entrepreneurs Want Congress to Keep Affordable Care Act in Place

Thumbtack, a local services marketplace that connects customers with skilled professionals, is today releasing the results of a comprehensive survey of Thumbtack professionals that sheds light on how small business entrepreneurs across the U.S. perceive the current political discussion around healthcare and the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This survey of 14,393 entrepreneurs across all 50 states was conducted throughout January and February 2017, and represents small business owners working across a variety of service-based industries, from diverse backgrounds, with a near-identical number of self-identified Democrats and Republicans (24.65 percent and 24.32 percent, respectively).

Key findings from this survey include:

• A majority of small business entrepreneurs (55 percent) want Congress to keep the ACA in place.
• One in four say health insurance was a factor in the decision to start their business.
• More than 57 percent disapprove of President Trump's record on healthcare thus far.
• More than two in three surveyed believe the federal government should help all Americans access affordable health insurance.
• Sixty percent reported they cannot afford to take time off from work in the event of a childbirth or adoption.
• Nearly 85 percent feel the federal government should act on that issue and try to lower drug prices - this trend holds true across party and socioeconomic lines.

While the survey found some expected variation across party lines regarding overall support of the ACA, when asked about individual ACA provisions for future reform, respondents were overwhelmingly in favor keeping each of them:

• Eighty-two percnt want to keep the provision "prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions."
• Seventy percent want to keep the provision "requiring businesses and companies with more than 50 full time employers to offer health insurance coverage."
• Seventy-six percent want to keep the provision "making subsidies for health insurance available to low income Americans."
• Sixty-seven percent want to keep the provision "requiring health insurance companies to cover prescription birth control."
• Seventy-three percent want to keep the provision "providing funding to states to expand Medicaid programs for low income Americans."
• Seventy-seven percent want to keep the provision "allowing adults under the age of 26 to stay on their parents health insurance plan."

The full report is available at Thumbtack's website at https://www.thumbtack.com/blog/mar-2017-healthcare/. Future data on this and other topics of note to small business owners can be found in Thumbtack's monthly Economic Sentiment Survey, which captures the economic attitudes and perspectives of small business owners from across the country who use Thumbtack. Originally designed in coordination with economists at Bloomberg (News - Alert), Thumbtack's Economic Sentiment Survey uniquely captures a ground-level view of the economy in all 50 states.

About Thumbtack

Thumbtack is a local services marketplace that connects customers who need to get things done with local professionals who can help. From plumbers and painters to DJs and personal trainers, Thumbtack helps millions of customers find the right professional for their project in over 1,000 categories. This translates to more than $1 billion in annual revenue for our professionals across the U.S., helping them grow their businesses on their own terms.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, Thumbtack is backed by more than $250 million in investment from Sequoia Capital, Google (News - Alert) Capital, Tiger Global Management, Javelin Investment Partners and Baillie Gifford. For more information, visit www.thumbtack.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307006547/en/

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