Small Businesses Urge Congress to Repeal the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) After SCOTUS Ruling
From Maine to Florida, small businesses urge Congress to repeal the Health Insurance Tax before 2014
Washington, D.C. (June 29, 2012) – This week, the Stop The HIT Coalition and small business advocates across the country urged lawmakers in Washington to repeal the Health Insurance Tax (HIT) following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to fully uphold all provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The following are this week’s headlines and statements detailing the need to repeal the HIT on our nation’s small businesses before the tax takes effect in 2014:
The Stop The HIT Coalition Statement on SCOTUS Healthcare Decision
- “‘While the court has decided on the constitutional questions related to the PPACA, the fact remains that provisions within the law having to do with taxation will continue to have an adverse impact on the small business community and they should be repealed,’ stated Duane Musser, Vice President of Government Relations with the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), a member of the Stop The HIT Coalition. ‘The HIT on small business, unless it is repealed before 2014, will make the cost of healthcare even more unrealistic for millions of small business owners and their employees. Members of Congress who are serious about improving the state of our economy should act quickly to pass current, bipartisan legislation repealing this costly and burdensome tax on our nation’s top job creators.'”
Maine Businesses Worried About Cost of Health Reform Ruling
- “David Clough, Maine state director for the right-leaning National Federation of Independent Business, said Maine companies already worried about the increase in cost and administrative work from the act will see the decision as a ‘major disappointment.’ ‘All their concerns are still hanging out there,’ he said. Clough said companies are concerned that employers with 50 workers or more will be penalized if they fail to provide health insurance. Another worry is that the health insurance tax imposed on insurers will get passed down to policyholders, he said. And for individuals who own small, one- or two-person businesses, their concern is how to afford the individual mandate, he said.”
Chamber Holds Roundtable on Health Insurance Tax
- “On Thursday, the National Federation of Independent Business and local small business leaders held a roundtable at the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce to discuss the impact of the looming Health Insurance Tax (HIT) and how Washington can take action to repeal the tax that will take $87 billion from the pockets of small businesses, including New York’s over 2,000,000 small businesses which employ 7,617,200 workers in the state.”
Corning Small Businesses Learn Impact of Health Insurance Tax
- “‘Small businesses represent the primary economic engine not only in New York, but across the country,’ Mike Durant, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business/New York, said in the release. ‘Amid a stagnant economy the challenges for small business are endless and the hidden Health Insurance Tax is front and center. Reigning in the exorbitant costs of health care is a top priority for NFIB and while all eyes are on Washington D.C. this week, this is not the time to wait and see. It is crucially important that Congress leaves nothing to chance and stands with small business to support legislation to repeal this unaffordable tax.'”
Health Insurance Tax May Hurt Small Businesses
- “Higher health insurance premiums may be coming your way. The Corning Chamber of Commerce held a roundtable discussion today to talk about the impact of a healthcare tax that could affect small businesses. The new tax on insurance companies would ultimately affect consumers. The Health Insurance Tax, known as ‘HIT,’ is part of the patient protection and affordable care act. Independent business advocates say it would hurt almost 90 percent of small business owners by raising the cost of insurance premiums.”
Health Insurance Tax Topic of Chemung County Chamber
- “The ‘Stop the HIT Coalition’ held a small business healthcare forum at the Chemung County Chamber of Commerce to discuss the Health Insurance Tax, which is included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and will raise the cost of small business health insurance premiums, according to a press release supplied by the chamber.”
Health Insurance Tax to Impact Small Business
- “Health insurance premiums could soon rise for small business owners because of the new Health Insurance Tax or HIT. Mike Durant of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, stopped in Elmira Wednesday to discuss the tax with small business owners…’We’re just trying to highlight what this issue is and that, ultimately, we think, it will lead to more people being uninsured, a higher cost of doing business and really be the anti-position the President was when he signed into law the Affordable Care Act,’ Durant said.”
Area Small Business Leaders Voice Concerns Over Health Insurance Tax
- “‘The Health Insurance Tax could have a devastating effect on hundreds of thousands of small businesses, severely reducing their ability to expand, create new jobs and contribute to the state’s economy,’ said Claire Kelbaugh, president of Sterling Wellness Solutions in Crowley. ‘This provision of the new law is very scary and disappointing health care reform should be about making coverage more affordable, not more expensive.'”
Support Small Business? Help Stop The HIT
- “There are so many ways our daily lives would be affected if local, small businesses shut down. From clothing stores to car dealerships; grocery stores to beauty salons; and coffee shops to flower shops, we would not only face job shortages, a dramatic drop in sales tax revenue and a loss in a variety of services. Really, we would have no reason to live here because everything we need and want would be located outside the parishes or at least several miles from our homes. Those reasons are why we all need support Stop the HIT (Health Insurance Tax). This is a coalition that is trying to repeal a portion of the federal health care act scheduled to take effect in 2014. The tax, which will be levied on large insurance companies, would generate $87 billion in its first 10 years. But those billions will be paid by small businesses and, ultimately, all of the working class.”
Stop HIT on Louisiana Small Businesses
“Set to take effect in 2014, the new Health Insurance Tax (HIT) will cost small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs across the country more than $87 billion over the next 10 years. Locally, it is estimated the HIT will impact hundreds of thousands of Louisiana’s small businesses, severely reducing their ability to expand, create new jobs, and contribute to the state’s economy. Small business employees will also suffer because of an estimated $500 dollar reduction in their take-home pay every year, adding up to $5,000 in the first decade alone.”
New Health Insurance Tax Could Hurt Small Businesses
- “Small businesses like Begneaud fear the plan designed to save them money may end up taking more money out of their pockets. ‘We do provide health insurance for all of our employees, but we’re really hoping not to see the rates increase more than they already have,’ says Begneaud Chief Operating Officer Aaron Broussard. 87 percent of small businesses purchase insurance in the fully insured marketplace. Insurance companies that provide this coverage will bear the brunt of an $87 billion health insurance tax.”
Health Care Act Roundtable Today
- The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce and local small-business leaders held a health care roundtable to discuss effects of the looming $87 billion Health Insurance Tax that is part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The groups discussed “how Washington can take action to repeal the tax that will result in $1.7 billion in sales lost for Florida small businesses and 4,700 jobs lost in the state by 2021.'”