America’s small businesses face a number of challenges every day. Unfortunately another expensive challenge is on the horizon.
The health insurance tax, or HIT, is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that will increase health insurance costs for the average family by an estimated $5,000 over the next decade. Small businesses and their employees will pay the brunt of the HIT because it is only collected on health insurance policies purchased in the fully-insured market, where 88 percent of small businesses obtain coverage.
The effort to repeal the HIT is gaining momentum every day. Between the House and Senate bills, approximately 250 Members of Congress have now signed on as cosponsors to repeal the HIT and bring some relief to small businesses across the country.
A number of small business owners took time this summer to talk with elected officials in their home states and district about the impact this tax would have on their ability to grow and thrive. We hope this outreach will increase support from Members leading into the fall and ahead of implementation in 2014.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) visited Cranemasters in Richmond, Va. and met with owners Brian and Barry Isringhausen. The brothers, who used to cover 100 percent of health insurance for their employees, have had to reduce contributions to their employee health plans in recent years as business slowed. The HIT will make it even harder for Cranemasters to continue providing the types of benefits its employees deserve.
Also speaking to local businesses was House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who visited ServiceMaster in Kalamazoo and met with small business owners from the area. Chairman Upton discussed the importance of Michigan’s 800,000 small businesses and promised to continue to work to address local business concerns with the PPACA such as the HIT.
Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) stopped by two small businesses, ProComm Alaska and A Transmission Exchange, in Anchorage, Alaska over the summer. Alaska’s more than 68,000 small businesses support more than 280,000 jobs and repealing the HIT would help control health premium costs for these hard working individuals.
We look forward to hearing more from Members of Congress who engage with local business constituents to understand the negative impact of the HIT on small businesses, and we encourage small business communities throughout the U.S. to continue discussing this issue with their elected officials in Congress who have the power to stop the HIT before 2014. Take time now to contact your Member of Congress and encourage repeal of the HIT.