When Sunshine Sign Co. went to renew its health insurance plan for workers this year, the small business faced a daunting figure ”” 21 percent.
That’s how much the Grafton company’s premiums for coverage under the Fallon Community Health Plan are going up, and it translates to a price hike of about $1,000 per person a year. For Sunshine Sign, which employs about 30, the result will be slimmer profit margins, according to President and Chief Executive David R. Glispin.
“You try to aggressively control what you can within your business and you try to be somewhat understanding of what you can’t,” Mr. Glispin said. “Health care has become exorbitant, but I guess we just accept it as a normal course of business.”
Many other small businesses in Massachusetts are confronting Sunshine Sign’s dilemma: The economy remains weak, but health insurance costs are going up, sometimes by 30 percent or more.