Attempt to Defund Affordable Care Act an Affront to Small Businesses

The latest attempt by some members of the House of Representatives to defund provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an affront to America's small business owners and the millions they employ. If opponents of the law truly cared about strengthening the economy and creating jobs, they would concentrate on improving the law instead of using petty political maneuvers to prevent it from achieving its goal, lowering healthcare costs for small businesses and all Americans.

Small business owners have struggled for years with exponentially rising healthcare costs, which impedes their ability to grow. If opponents succeed in defunding all or portions of the law, small businesses would be faced with even higher premiums and no relief in sight. Our research shows that absent reform, small business owners would spend nearly $2.4 trillion in healthcare costs over the next decade, and $52.1 billion in small business profits and 178,000 small business jobs would disappear as a result of these costs.

The ACA is by no means perfect, but it will significantly lower healthcare costs and usher in a new era of economic opportunity for small employers. Even as opponents of the ACA attempt to undermine it, millions of small business owners are eligible for tax credits to help cover the cost of health insurance on their 2010 taxes. Other forms of financial relief are on the way, and now is not the time to revoke the many benefits the law provides to our entrepreneurs.

Small employers have had enough with the partisan politics. Small businesses need Congress to focus on implementing the Affordable Care Act, creating jobs and restoring our economic vitality.