Soaring health care costs are causing financial strain on American small business owners ahead of the November midterms. Many businesses are struggling due to rising costs, including having to cut hours, lay off workers, or eliminate bonuses, and face difficulty hiring new employees and conducting layoffs. Tyler Dever, principal of federal government relations for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), suggested that the Trump administration could help reduce these costs by expanding access to more affordable health care alternatives outside of the traditional small group market. He suggested that an immediate step was restoring and extending Short-Term Limited Duration Insurance, which was shortened by the Biden administration in an effort to attract more people to the Obamacare marketplace. Nearly half of U.S. small employers have reported taking a lower profit or raising a loss to afford health insurance premium increases over the past five years, according to NFIB. The median health insurance Premium for small employers has risen 23% since 2022, outpacing inflation by 13% over that time period.