Healthcare Reform Lets Small Businesses Get Back to Business

Small businesses have been waiting for healthcare reform for decades. Their wait is over. The House of Representative's passage today of this long-needed legislation means they will finally be able to get some relief from a system that has stifled their growth and ability to innovate for too long. Now they can start getting back to doing what they do best, putting Americans to work and helping our economy flourish.

The reforms included in this legislation address small business owners top concerns: affordability and accessibility. Small business owners will be able to join state pools, or exchanges, which will lower their costs and give them the leverage they need when negotiating for coverage. They won't have to worry about insurers denying them coverage because of their age, health status or a preexisting condition, because insurance reforms will end these unfair practices. The 22 million self-employed will have peace of mind, and extra money to put back into the economy, thanks to regulations that will prevent insures from hitting them with double and triple-digit rate hikes every year. And small business owners will get immediate relief through tax credits that will help them afford insurance for their employees and themselves.

The bottom line is that the soaring cost of healthcare will no longer be a monumental obstacle to opening and operating a small business.

It's now up to the Senate to pass the final piece and send comprehensive reform legislation to the president's desk. Then, we will be able to move forward as a healthier, stronger nation, secure in the knowledge that the American Dream won't slip through one more small business owner's hands because of a broken healthcare system. We can finally, with the help of our 28 million entrepreneurs, begin to dig our economy out of this debilitating recession and thrive once again.