Jim Henderson, the CEO of Dynamic Sales Co., in St. Louis, isn't crazy about the historic health care reform bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday.

He argues that it will raise costs for his industrial supplies company, and he believes that not only will his insurer pass the cost of higher taxes along to him, but also that other taxes will add to his burden. Meanwhile, Henderson says there is little in the bill to help him pay for insurance for his six employees, whose deductibles recently doubled to $2,000.

"I don't see any help or relief for our situation in this bill," Henderson says. "What we needed was more free-market competition. Let insurance companies sell across state lines. We didn't need a government-run program that doesn't do anything to bring costs down."

Henderson is just one of many small-business owners across the country who are uneasy with the measure, the subject of intense partisan fighting for more than a year. Various polls have showed small-business owners were largely against the reform package. A survey by City Business Journals Network last fall found that 53 percent of small-business owners said that health care reform would add to their costs. (Portfolio.com and the City Business Journals Network are both owned by American City Business Journals.)

Many small-business owners also fear that they will end up paying higher taxes aimed at individuals who make more than $200,000 a year. A new tax on those high earners, designed to help pay for health reform, will hit many small-business owners because 75 percent of small firms are structured so that they pay their taxes at the individual level, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Small-business owners also fear that they'll bear the brunt of paying for the insurance tax because large self-insured employers are exempt. That means insurance companies are expected to pass the tax on to small businesses and individuals.

"What do we get? Penalty after penalty and tax after tax," says Sherry Pymer, vice president of Pymer Plastering. "There's no reason other than the fact the government wants to take over the insurance industry that this type of bill should be passed."

Pymer insures her 10 employees through Anthem Blue Cross at a cost of about $54,000 last year. The Columbus, Ohio-based company has annual sales of around $1 million a year.