The number of small businesses in Colorado that offer health insurance to their employees could rise dramatically under the state health-benefits exchange set to go live in 2014.

A survey by insurer Kaiser Permanente found that 37 percent of businesses with 50 or fewer employees now offer health insurance to all of their employees. The exchange could bring that number up to 59 percent, according to the survey.

The benefits exchange, mandated under the Affordable Care Act, is an online marketplace where individuals and small businesses can pool resources and buy lower-cost health insurance.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide the constitutionality of parts of the reform next week. A Colorado law passed last year requires that an exchange be set up regardless of what the court decides.

There are concerns, though, that without the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act requiring all individuals to carry health insurance by 2014, the exchange would become less effective.

Kaiser surveyed 300 Colorado small businesses last month. Its survey showed that most company leaders want employees to have multiple choices between insurance carriers and want plans that include prevention and wellness benefits.

Kaiser will make its official foray into the Northern Colorado market in October, opening clinics in Loveland and Fort Collins. Kaiser has partnered with Banner Health so that Kaiser policyholders can seek hospital treatment at either of the two Banner facilities in Northern Colorado: North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley or McKee Medical Center in Loveland.