CHARLOTTE, N.C. — According to a recent survey, dozens of North Carolina small businesses report increasing health insurance costs are hindering their growth or forcing them to raise prices. 

National nonprofit Small Business for America’s Future surveyed 109 small business owners in North Carolina with up to 500 employees. The majority of the respondents had 10 or fewer employees. 

Kenneth Fields, who owns IT-HenHouse in Charlotte, is one of those surveyed. His company helps businesses consolidate technology systems. It's also an authorized reseller of IT hardware and software. 

Currently, Fields, a U.S. Army veteran, hires contractors in the U.S. and overseas for projects. He wants to hire full-time employees but is worried about the cost of employee health care coverage. 

"No one should be left behind when it comes to health coverage,” Fields said. 

He wants to cover the entire premium for future workers but he can’t afford it. A recent price estimate for 50 employees showed he would pay $1,000 a month for just one employee.

“That would be challenging for us to cover," Fields said. 

The survey revealed he’s not alone, with 72% of survey respondents reporting they don’t provide employee health insurance because it’s too expensive. 

“It impacts us from a recruiting standpoint,” Fields said. 

The Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50 or more full-time staff to provide affordable health insurance. However, Fields said small business owners like him want to do the same. 

“I want to stick to the core of my being. For me being a retired military veteran, I know what the United States has done for us as a family. But like my wife says, being in military, we are geared to protect people and I want to protect people. So for me it’s important that I operate this business, no matter what revenue I have, to keep those people in mind,” Fields said. 

He said offering employee health care is an incentive that would help him attract more staff and grow his business. 

Those surveyed said not offering this benefit has made them less competitive, delayed growth and stalled hiring. Fields said job creation helps the economy. 

“It affects the community because if they don’t have a job or a position in IT-HenHouse, where exactly are they going to go?" Fields said.

Small Business for America’s Future is using the information from this survey to lobby Congress to lower employee health care costs. 

According to the North Carolina survey, 86% of small business owners feel strongly that this is an issue that lawmakers must address.

Small Business for America’s Future Co-Chair Erika Gonzalez said the findings show business owners want change now. 

“They are OK with anything that needs to be done in order to lower health care costs. For them it’s more of the urgency. Them wanting them to just take action and that they’re not really concerned so much about how it gets done, just that it gets done," Gonzalez said.

Fields said even if costs remain the same, he’d still add full-time staff next year but he’d be forced to increase price for customers. 

“I think taking them as to an employee level means we are truly committed to them, but I don’t want health care to be an obstacle,” Fields said. 

Requiring hospitals to disclose negotiated payment rates and capping out of pocket patient expenses were two of the ideas those participating in the survey favored the most to lower employee health care costs. 

Small Business of America’s Future also conducted a national survey of business owners. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and the North Carolina Healthcare Association on their reaction to the survey results. As of Tuesday, we have not received a response.