More than half of Arizona small businesses say they can no longer afford to offer health care coverage to their employees, and nearly one-fifth say they are worried about their ability to continue offering employee health benefits, according to a new survey conducted by the Behavior Research Center, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The poll of 400 small businesses was limited to Maricopa County, but experts said its findings can be applied to businesses in other parts of the state. The survey found that only 44% of small businesses say they can afford to offer employee health benefits, down from 52% in 2000 and 57% in 1996. The study also found that 18% of businesses surveyed say they are concerned about their ability to maintain health coverage in the future, compared with 10% in 2000 and 6% in 1996. The state has "historically high numbers of uninsured" people, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, with more than 17% of state residents without health coverage in 2003, compared with 15.6% nationally, the Daily Star reports. BRC Director Earl de Berge said the study's findings indicate "a very big and important shift" that will add to the numbers of uninsured in the state. Charlie O'Dowd, Southern Arizona director of the Arizona Small Business Association, said, "There's no doubt health care is one of the top issues among small businesses," adding that it "may be an even bigger issue" in Southern Arizona "because there is a higher percentage of the population employed by small business[es]" in that area. Hank Peck, an insurance broker who specializes in health care, noted that insurers are more closely scrutinizing small businesses' health plans and trying to limit their costs. "Profitability is everything to the insurers now," Peck said (Erikson, Arizona Daily Star, 9/27).