WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 26, 2013) – The Stop the HIT Coalition, a broad-based group representing the nation’s small business owners, their employees and the self-employed, issued the following statement after President Barack Obama’s remarks at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, M.D. Thursday:
“President Obama painted a rosy picture about all the good things the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will do, but what he failed to mention was the real hurt it will cause for the more than two million Marylanders who will face up to 15 percent higher health care rates than in 2013,” said Kevin Kuhlman, Manager of Legislative Affairs for National Federation of Independent Business, a leading Stop the HIT Coalition member. “This, compounded with today’s announced delay of the small business exchange in all of the 36 states with federally facilitated SHOPs, means individuals and families that rely on health insurance through small business employers will face even greater uncertainty when the exchange is simply not ready for primetime.”
As referenced in a recent Washington Post article, the implementation of the PPACA will be anything but smooth for families and individuals that obtain their health insurance through a job at a small business.
While individuals will be able to enroll in health insurance policies beginning Oct. 1, small businesses operating in states with federally facilitated SHOPs will not. Not only could this result in coverage delays, it will likely mean small businesses and their employees will be on the hook for higher health insurance premiums.
“Exceptions to the health care law are being made for a number of other groups, but not for small businesses – the real backbone of communities in Maryland and across the country,” Kuhlman continued. “If Congress and the administration are seeking more support for the law, they need to swiftly address the concerns of small businesses, their employees and their families.”
The health insurance tax, or HIT, is an often-overlooked aspect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that taxes health insurance policies purchased on the fully-insured market – the marketplace where 88 percent of small businesses and individuals buy insurance. Over the next decade, the HIT is expected to cost the average family $5,000. Labor unions and large corporations are largely exempt from the tax.