ANCHORAGE, August 14, 2013 – Yesterday, the Stop the HIT
Coalition, a broad-based group representing small business communities
throughout the nation, joined several small businesses in Anchorage,
Alaska for a tour with U.S. Senator Mark Begich to discuss local
concerns about the health insurance tax (HIT).
“I was happy to
learn that Senator Begich took the time to hear from local businesses
about how the HIT will have a serious impact on small businesses
throughout our state,” said Al Tamagni, owner of Pension Services
International and Chair of the National Federation of Independent
Business/Alaska Leadership Council. “Finding a way to avoid saddling
small businesses with these increased costs needs to be a top priority
of our elected officials in Washington.”
The HIT is a new tax
included as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
While initially assessed to companies that sell health insurance
policies on the fully-insured market, a Congressional Budget Office
report has said that these costs are likely to be passed on to
consumers. The HIT will cost an estimated $101.7 billion over the next
decade, increasing the costs of the average family health care plan by
an estimated $5,000 over that same time. Eighty-eight percent of small
businesses purchase health insurance policies that will be impacted by
the HIT.
The tour featured stops at several Anchorage businesses,
including ProComm Alaska, a two-way radio dealership and service
company, and A Transmission Exchange, an automotive repair and
maintenance shop.
“For small businesses like ours, any increase
in costs is magnified,” said Linda Peters, owner of ProComm Alaska.
“There is no way to increase costs to small business in a fixed market
without reducing benefits to small business employees. The HIT hurts our
future and threatens the stability of the small business sector. Small
businesses are the real drivers of the economy but more important, they
are likely your employer and they’re under fire here.”
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.