Colorado Springs, CO – Colorado small business leaders met today at the Mining Exchange Hotel in Colorado Springs to discuss the impact of the 2020 health insurance tax, or HIT, on small businesses, their employees, seniors on Medicare and middle-income families. Small businesses leaders expressed concerns about the impact of the HIT on Colorado small businesses, their employees and the self-employed if the tax is not delayed by the end of this year.
“We really appreciate Senator Cory Gardner taking the lead on this issue and pushing to continue the delay,” says Zach Riley, Director of Public Policy and National Affairs for the Colorado Farm Bureau. “We keep talking about the delay, every couple of years. In reality, no one supports the HIT tax.” Riley adds that farming and ranching income has been on a steady decline and allowing the HIT tax to go back into effect will have “real-world consequences for Colorado farmers who cannot afford to see their health insurance premiums go up.”
The HIT is a federal sales tax on health insurance plans purchased by small business owners, the self-employed, and workers who receive their health care coverage through an employer. Without action by Congress this year to delay the tax for 2020, Colorado small business owners and seniors on Medicare will be hit with higher health insurance premiums as they renew their coverage next year.
“Congress needs to act before the end of this year to delay the Health Insurance Tax from going into effect in 2020,” said Barbara Myrick, Board Member of the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber. “If Congress does not suspend this tax in 2020, Colorado small business owners and seniors on Medicare will be hit with higher health insurance premiums totaling $205 million in 2020 alone as they renew their coverage next year.”
Coloradois home to more than 572,500 small businesses, which employ more than one million Colorado workers. A study by Oliver Wyman shows that Colorado families in the small employer market could be faced with $422 on average in higher premiums in 2020 as a result of the HIT. The tax is estimated to disproportionately impact 142 million Americans, particularly those earning an income between $10,000 and $50,000.
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The Stop The HIT Coalition represents the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed who are actively working to repeal the Health Insurance Tax. Since the Coalition’s formation in 2011, it has grown to include more than 35 national organizations, representing millions of small business owners across the country. For more information, please visit www.StopTheHIT.com