Small Business Still Not Celebrating Anniversary of ObamaCare

Statement

House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today issued the following statement on the second anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on March 23.

"Two years ago, small businesses worried about the enactment of the health care law because they feared the onslaught of employer mandates and taxes associated with it. Today, we have proof that their fears were valid. Poll after poll shows that the overwhelming majority of businesses believe the health reform law has impeded, and will continue to impede, their ability to grow and hire employees. Giving the federal government more control over the health care industry and placing stringent restrictions and requirements on small businesses has proven to be harmful for our economy.

"On top of running their companies, small businesses have to deal with a ton of burdens because of this law, like the employee mandate and penalty for businesses with more than 50 employees, the rising cost of overall premiums, which many small businesses pay a portion of, and the barrage of new taxes, such as the Medicare payroll surtax on investment income and the comprehensive health insurance plans tax.

"During a field hearing in Colorado last week, John Leevers, President of Leevers Supermarkets Inc., in Franktown, CO conveyed the sentiment of millions of small business owners when he said, "the Affordable Care Act has placed our small business between a "rock and a hard place.' The "Shared Responsibility' provision forces us to try and decide between two bad decisions. We can choose to continue the provision of health benefits and be saddled by unsustainable costs resulting from a mandated increase not only in the number of beneficiaries we must cover under our plans, but also the richness of the benefit we must offer. The alternative, discontinuing coverage, is equally problematic, and forces us to ignore time tested justifications for providing benefits that will result in severe employee relations issues. Thus, unless significant changes are made to the Affordable Care Act, it stands to do irreparable damage to many small businesses.'

"We've faced unemployment above 8 percent for 37 months, primarily due to the Washington-induced private sector roadblocks like this health care law. If the Supreme Court were to overturn it or if the Senate and President would join us in dismantling the job-crushing provisions in the law, it would be a strong step in the right direction for economic growth and getting Americans back on the job."

On March 16th, the Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations held a field hearing entitled, The Health Care Reform Law: Its Present and Future Impact on Small Businesses and Job Creation.

Small business owners have communicated how the law is harming their business through the Committee's new interactive webpage, Small Biz Open Mic. Click here to read their comments.

PPACA and Small Business:

* According to the latest Chamber of Commerce quarterly Small Business Outlook Survey, 74% of small businesses say the recent health care law makes it harder for their business to hire more employees.
* According to the latest Gallup/Wells Fargo small business poll, 85% are not hiring. And among small businesses who are not hiring, 48% (nearly half) blame rising health care costs.
* Health insurance premiums shot up 9 percent last year, nearly three times the rate of inflation and the most since 2005, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study.

Source