The results of a nationwide survey were released on November 19th and emphasize the difficulty that many small businesses have when trying to offer health insurance to employees.  Fewer employers offered health insurance coverage in 2007--down from 63% in 2006 to 61%.  The study, conducted by Mercer, included approximately 3,000 private and public companies and found that the cost of offering health insurance rose 6.1% this year.  The average employer pays $7,983 per employee for health coverage and researchers predicted an increase of 5.7% in 2008.  The survey did find that the number of insured workers with lower-cost, high-deductible plans rose from 3% in 2006 to 5% in 2007. 

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