Like the popular television commercials with children explaining their theories on what’s better (when asked if more is better than less), they want more. The concept is that simple. People, in general, do not want to settle for less.

Small businesses want more from a program that is named the Small Business Health Options Program or SHOP exchange. The government, however, has stripped away the “options” (at least for a year).

If you’re a worker for a small business employer who is offered the SHOP exchange, you really don’t have anything to “shop” around for. One plan = no options. By taking the employee choice out of the equation – employers are left wondering where the promised choices are.

They say the public exchanges will be ready on October 1^st, but what does “ready” really mean? The stripped down SHOP program may be considered ready to operate but how do the 27 million-plus[1] small businesses in the U.S. feel? Do they feel it is ready? And, are they ready to break the news to their employees that they will have to suffer a one-size-fits-all approach because the government can’t keep to a schedule that they themselves set?

The ACA is complicated, and even Kathleen Sebelius admitted she didn’t anticipate how much so. Why funnel employees into a SHOP exchange and limit their options when they can have multiple options elsewhere?

The InsureXSolutions® private exchange is the ideal solution for small businesses looking to remain or become part of that 60 % of employers offering health insurance.[2] Top insurers are already taking part in InsureXSolutions as employees will have the custom options they deserve. In fact, participating employees will be empowered to use the InsureXSolutions online insurance marketplace to shop for individual health insurance, Medicare, short-term insurance, Health Savings Accounts, vision, dental and more.

Small businesses want more health insurance options and with InsureXSolutions they can have them now and in 2014.