Research conducted by Grand Valley State University professor Leslie Muller shows there is a diminishing number of small businesses offering employees health insurance due to the new Affordable Care Act.

The study was done on small businesses with fewer than 50 employers in West and Southwest Michigan.

Results concluded that just 25 percent of small businesses that originally offered health insurance have intentions to continue with this practice in 2015 and 2016.

In addition to this, small businesses who have or who are thinking of cutting back on hiring comprise 46 percent of the study.

For more information on the study, contact Dottie Barnes at (616) 331-2221.