The survey was conducted by Newtek Business Services with more than 1,200 respondents as part of its January Small Business Authority Market Sentiment Survey.

Fourteen percent of the businesses plan to ask employees to pay a greater share of the cost of health insurance. Thirteen percent plan to rebid their policies, and 8 percent plan to reduce benefits.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 27.5 million small businesses in the nation, totaling more than 99.7 percent of all employer firms.